Ontario proposes allowing 18-storey mass timber buildings
Officials say they want to speed up construction with off-site, mass timber work.
Key Takeaways:
- The province intends to amend the Building Code in the coming months to permit encapsulated mass timber construction up to 18 storeys.
- Officials say mass timber provides an opportunity to shift housing construction offsite and into factories, supporting more efficient and rapid construction.
- As part of its review, Ontario participated in a national consultation on proposed changes to Ontario’s Building Code that would allow for expanded use of mass timber in the province. The feedback will be analyzed by a multi-province Joint Task Group that will share a report of these findings that will be used to implement this change.
The Whole Story:
Ontario wants to go big with mass timber.
This month the province announced plans to expand the use of advanced wood construction like mass timber to new heights. Currently, Ontario’s Building Code allows Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction buildings to be up to 12-storeys tall. The province intends to amend the Building Code in the coming months to permit encapsulated mass timber construction up to 18 storeys.
“The use of mass timber can help the sector build more homes faster, keep the cost of construction down and boost our northern economy,” said Paul Calandra, minister of municipal affairs and housing. “As we work to cut red tape in order to increase housing supply, we’re taking an innovative approach to help our partners get shovels in the ground.”
Officials argued that Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction offers an environmental solution for quieter and faster construction with the same fire and structural protection as other building methods. They added that provincial initiatives that support advanced wood construction, such as Ontario’s Forest Sector Strategy, offer a significant opportunity to shift housing construction offsite and into factories, supporting more efficient and rapid construction from renewable forestry resources.
“Our abundant natural resources and highly-skilled forestry sector are helping to meet the demand for housing across the province,” said Graydon Smith, minister of natural resources and forestry. “Advanced wood construction will help bring long-term investments to northern communities that will create new, good-paying jobs while increasing housing supply and supporting Ontario’s largest renewable natural resource sector.”
As part of its review, Ontario participated in a national consultation on proposed changes to Ontario’s Building Code that would allow for expanded use of mass timber in the province. The feedback will be analyzed by a multi-province Joint Task Group that will share a report of these findings that will be used to implement the change.
The announcement comes after similar efforts on the west coast. Late last year, the province of B.C. is proposed code changes that expand what builders can do with mass timber, including constructing structures up to 18 storeys. The changes in B.C. would also allow for more exposed mass timber or fewer layers of encapsulation in buildings, depending on a building’s height. These changes could be adopted sometime this spring.
