A+U 645 - 20 Years of Mass Timber Constructions in Canada

At the turn of the 21st century, Canada adopted a constructive environmental approach for sustainable forest management, timber use, and climate change mitigation. Canadian architects have since demonstrated their ingenuity in this respect. In addition, careful use of timber resources is also deeply intertwined with Indigenous cultures and land rights. Mass timber is construction that uses large-volume wood laminated timber, which is highly relevant to today’s building methods: using local materials, recycling resources, and reducing carbon footprints. Nineteen projects by six architectural firms are highlighted, illustrating the evolution and potential of mass timber in the Canadian context.