WoodWorks Blog Blog Description en-us Mon, 15 Mar 10 22:00:00 UT Mon, 15 Mar 10 22:00:00 UT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Marqui 6.0 System Administrator System Administrator 2010 Wood Handbook Now Availablehttp://www.woodworks.org/blog/2010-wood-handbook-now-available.aspxThe Wood Handbook, published by the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), is one of the most widely used reference documents related to wood as an engineering material. The 2010 edition is now available from the Forest Products Society at a special rate of $60—which includes both a hard copy and CD. According to FPL, the handbook is intended to serve as a primary reference on the use of wood in a variety of applications, from general construction to decorative. Chapters include:

  • Characteristics and Availability of Commercially Important Woods

  • Structure and Function of Wood

  • Moisture Relations and Physical Properties of Wood

  • Mechanical Properties of Wood

  • Commercial Lumber, Round Timbers, and Ties

  • Stress Grades and Design Properties for Lumber, Round Timber and Ties

  • Fastenings

  • Structural Analysis Equations

  • Adhesives with Wood Materials – Bond Formation and Performance

  • Wood-Based Composite Materials – Panel Products, Glued-Laminated Timber, Structural Composite Lumber, and Wood-Nonwood Composite Materials

  • Mechanical Properties of Wood-Based Composite Materials

  • Drying and Control of Moisture Content

  • Biodeterioration of Wood

  • Wood Preservation

  • Finishing of Wood

  • Use of Wood in Buildings and Bridges

  • Fire Safety of Wood Construction

  • Specialty Treatments

  • Heat Sterilization of Wood

The 2010 edition includes several new chapters on subjects such as heat treating and sterilization procedures for wood infected by invasive insect species and wood’s environmental credentials, as well as a special chapter featuring low-magnification micrographs of commercial wood species cross-sections.

To order a copy, visit the Forest Products Society website at:
http://www.forestprod.org/handbook/

]]>Sat, 09 Jul 11 07:00:00 UTHow sustainable are wood, concrete and steel? Earn AIA/CES LUs or GBCI CE hours while you find out.http://www.woodworks.org/blog/how-sustainable-are-wood-concrete-and-steel-earn-aiaces-lus-or-gbci-ce-hours-while-you-find-out.aspx
Materials Matter discusses the environmental footprint of each material at several stages of the life cycle process, while Materials in Action uncovers how they differ in basic properties, performance, and end of life issues.


]]>Thu, 19 May 11 07:00:00 UTSeattle Energy Program for Non-res Buildings Ignores Embodied Effectshttp://www.woodworks.org/blog/seattle-energy-program-for-nonres-buildings-ignores-embodied-effects.aspxa new program that requires building owners to track the operational energy efficiency of non-residential and multi-family buildings larger than 10,000 square feet. According to the DPD, 26 percent of Seattle’s greenhouse gas emissions are the result of building energy use and the city believes it can reduce energy consumption in existing buildings by 20 percent through this initiative. However, while this certainly is a laudable goal, what it brings to mind is how little people think about the embodied energy associated with our nation’s building stock.

Embodied energy is the energy needed to extract, process, manufacture, transport and maintain a material or product over time. Because wood is produced naturally using energy from the sun instead of fossil fuel-based energy, it has significantly less embodied energy than building materials such as steel and concrete, which is one of the reasons it has a low carbon footprint.

Last year, the research organization FPInnovations undertook a literature review of 48 studies with the objective of summarizing the consensus (or range) of scientific opinion regarding the net impact of wood use on greenhouse gases from a life cycle perspective. The report, A Synthesis of Research on Wood Products & Greenhouse Gas Impacts, includes the following:

 “A universal conclusion is that the manufacturing of wood products requires less total energy, and in particular less fossil energy, than the manufacturing of most alternative materials. “Cradle to gate” analyses of material production, including the acquisition of raw materials (e.g., mining or forest management), transportation, and processing into usable products, show that wood products need less production energy than a functionally equivalent amount of metals, concrete or bricks. Furthermore, much of the energy used in wood processing is thermal energy used for drying, for which wood processing residues are commonly used. Thus, the fossil carbon emission from wood product manufacturing is generally much lower than that from non-wood products.”

The other reason that wood has a low carbon footprint is that it continues to store carbon, which was absorbed during the tree’s growing cycle.

To put this in perspective, another recent study, this one conducted by FPInnovations and the Athena Sustainable Materials Institute, analyzed the carbon footprint of four wood products manufactured in Canada and delivered to the UK—softwood lumber, softwood plywood, Western red cedar lumber, and Western red cedar siding. In all cases, despite being transported nearly 10,000 miles, the carbon stored in the wood is greater than the carbon emissions associated with the harvest, manufacture and transport of the products.

When you consider that about a third of all energy consumed in the developed world goes toward heating, cooling, lighting and the operation of appliances in non-industrial buildings, it makes sense that a central goal of sustainable design is to reduce operational energy consumption—but that doesn’t mean we should ignore the embodied effects of our structures. Rather, one has to ask how many years or decades it would take even the most energy efficient building to “break even” from a carbon perspective if it’s constructed using materials that require large amounts of fossil fuels to produce.

For the record, wood also contributes to a building’s operational energy efficiency because it is less thermally conductive than steel or concrete, which means less insulation is required to achieve the same level of thermal performance.

Seattle’s new program will apply to buildings 50,000 square feet and larger starting in the fall and extend to other buildings in April 2012.  For more information, visit the City of Seattle website.

For more information on wood and carbon, have a look at WoodWorks’ Wood and Carbon Footprint info sheet, and newly published case studies of the Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater in Washington, DC, and Herrington Recovery Center in Wisconsin, which include information on how much carbon is stored in those buildings.

Submitted by Dwight Yochim, National Director, WoodWorks]]>Tue, 17 May 11 07:00:00 UTLooking for AIA/CES LU or PDH credits?http://www.woodworks.org/blog/looking-for-aiaces-lu-or-pdh-credits.aspxWoodWorks' Online Training Library now includes more ways to earn valuable education credits while expanding your knowledge of non-residential and multi-story wood design...


CASE STUDIES

Earn one credit by reading any of the WoodWorks case studies and taking a short online quiz. Click on the tiles below for details.

Changing the Shape of Wood Construction - 1 AIA/CES LU (HSW) or PDH credit.
The addition of a 6,000-square-foot rooftop addition onto a 1950s-era brick and concrete warehouse takes the building from ordinary to extraordinary.
Healthy Building, Healthy Healing - 1 AIA/CES LU (HSW/SD) or PDH credit.
Wood provides a serene space for a 21,000-square-foot, 20-bed treatment center for executives and business professionals.
Innovations in Heavy Timber Construction - 1 AIA/CES LU (HSW/SD) or PDH credit.
Combining the beauty of timber with modern construction.
Maximizing View & Value with Wood - 1 AIA/CES LU (HSW) or PDH credit.
Marselle’s 5½-story podium design takes wood to new levels.
Wood Buildings Aim High - 1 AIA/CES LU (HSW) or PDH credit.
Benefits and engineering challenges of podium design.
Wood Plays the Leading Role at Arena Stage - 1 AIA/CES LU (HSW) or PDH credit.
Washington, DC Performing Arts Center uses unique wood and glass façade to protect historic theaters.


INFORMATION SHEETS

Two new information sheets, Sustainable Forestry and Wood and Carbon Footprint, were added to the library this week. Click here to see a complete list of WoodWorks Information Sheets offered and the type of credits you can earn by studying them.


RECORDED WEBINARS

The library of recorded webinars keeps growing with at least one new topic added each month—topics range from durability, to green building to building systems and innovative new products.


Posted by Ivana Kraljevic 
WoodWorks Special Projects Coordinator



]]>Tue, 03 May 11 07:00:00 UTSE&D Article: The Trend toward Taller Wood Buildingshttp://www.woodworks.org/blog/sed-article-the-trend-toward-taller-wood-buildings.aspxThe February issue of Structural Engineering & Design includes an article by WoodWorks technical director, Michelle Kam-Biron, P.E., S.E., focusing on engineering considerations for taller wood buildings.

Making good with wood

"Have you noticed that wood buildings are getting taller? In the United States, four- and five-story wood-frame buildings are common, and there are numerous six-story examples in the Pacific Northwest. In Canada, the province of British Columbia recently increased the allowable height of residential wood buildings from four stories to six. The United Kingdom is home to the world’s tallest mixed-use wood structure — an apartment tower in London that includes eight stories of cross-laminated timber (CLT) over one story of concrete — and plans are underway to go higher still …"

To read the rest of the article, click here.

 

]]>Mon, 21 Feb 11 08:00:00 UTWOOD AND GREEN RATING SYSTEMShttp://www.woodworks.org/blog/wood-and-green-rating-systems.aspxIn a recent article in Environmental Design + Construction’s online edition, WoodWorks’ national director asks:
Are green rating systems starting to recognise wood’s carbon benefits?

"Wood’s primary advantages from an environmental standpoint are either undervalued or ignored in most green building rating systems, especially in North America. This is the conclusion of a recent study by Light House Sustainable Building Centre in Vancouver, Canada, which analyzed 18 of the most commonly used rating systems worldwide and how they relate to wood. However, there is evidence that this may be changing as wood’s carbon benefits, in particular, are becoming better known."

Click here to read the rest of the article

 

]]>Thu, 03 Feb 11 08:00:00 UTStudy Reinforces Positive Link between Wood and Healthhttp://www.woodworks.org/blog/study-reinforces-positive-link-between-wood-and-health.aspx
“SNS activation is the way human bodies prepare themselves to deal with stress,” says researcher David Fell, who conducted the study.  “It increases blood pressure and heart rate while inhibiting digestion, recovery and repair functions in order to deal with immediate threats. While necessary in the short term, prolonged periods in an SNS-activated state have a negative effect on the body’s physiological and psychological health.”

Numerous studies have proven the stress-reducing benefits of outdoor nature. Unfortunately, the average North American spends about 90 percent of his or her time indoors. “If we want to benefit from nature’s stress-reducing properties, we need to spend more time outside or find ways to bring nature in—such as introducing wood to the indoor environment.”

The study supports wood’s value as a tool in evidence-based design (EBD)—a growing field that seeks to promote health and other positive outcomes such as increased productivity and well-being based on scientifically-credible evidence. So far, EBD has focused largely on healthcare and, in particular, patient recovery. A fact sheet on Wood and Building Occupants published by the Canadian Wood Council highlights the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center and Credit Valley Hospital, both of which used wood extensively to create “warm, people-oriented environments with a non-institutional character.”

The complete study is available on the University of British Columbia website:

Wood in the Human Environment: Restorative Properties of Wood in the Built Indoor Environment
by David Robert Fell
]]>Tue, 30 Nov 10 08:00:00 UTCalifornia Wood Design Awards: Deadline December 10http://www.woodworks.org/blog/california-wood-design-awards-deadline-december-10.aspxCalling all California design professionals! There are just three weeks left to nominate a project for a 2011 California Wood Design Award, so act quickly. Awards will be presented to architects and engineers who demonstrate innovation and excellence in the design of wood buildings. Categories include:

  • Institutional Wood Design

  • Commercial Wood Design

  • Multi-story Wood Design

  • Interior Beauty of Wood

  • Green Building

  • Traditional Use of Wood

  • Major Renovation in Wood (New)

ELIGIBILITY AND DEADLINE

To be eligible, designers, firms and/or projects must be based in California. Applications must be received by December 10, 2010.

REGISTRATION

There is no cost to nominate a project for a WoodWorks Wood Design Award. Multiple submissions are encouraged.

MORE INFORMATION

View category details and download nomination forms.
View last year’s award-winning projects.

Questions? Email Bryan Schuyler, Regional Director for WoodWorks in California, at bryan@woodworks.org.

]]>Mon, 15 Nov 10 08:00:00 UT30-story Wood Building Planned for Austriahttp://www.woodworks.org/blog/30story-wood-building-planned-for-austria.aspxAt eight stories of cross laminated timber (CLT) over one story of concrete, the Stadthaus building in the UK currently has the distinction of being the world’s tallest mixed-use wood building. But European design and construction firm CREE (which stands for Creative Renewable Energy & Efficiency) is challenging that record with plans to build a 30-story mixed-use wood building in Dornbirn, Austria.

Read the article:

Life Cycle Tower: The World's Tallest Wooden Building

by Amanda Hinski

 

]]>Fri, 05 Nov 10 07:00:00 UTScore Green Rating Points with LCAhttp://www.woodworks.org/blog/score-green-rating-points-with-lca.aspxLife cycle assessment (LCA) has been integrated into the Green Globes environmental assessment and rating system and may soon be included in LEED*—which means that building designers should start preparing themselves to utilize LCA tools as part of their decision making.

Unlike prescriptive ‘rules’ for green building (e.g., materials must have a certain percentage of recycled content), LCA is a scientific method for determining a material’s environmental impact over its lifetime based on quantifiable measures.  It’s extremely helpful for architects and others who want to know the true impact their choices are having on the environment—and, thanks to a number of tools now available (one of which is free), it is now relatively easy to factor LCA into the design process.

For those who want to learn a lot about LCA in a small amount of time, LCA experts at the Athena Institute—which developed the only LCA tools for North American buildings—is offering a three-hour online course in conjunction with EarthShift.  The course costs $500 and includes the following:

  • Intro to LCA – Learn the steps for conducting an LCA according to ISO protocol. Leave with an understanding of how to collect Life Cycle Inventory Data for materials.
  • LCA Applications in the Building Industry – Learn about the current standards and proposed building standards that are incorporating LCA. Get an overview of ISO 21930, Sustainability in building construction – Environmental declaration of building products.
  • SimaPro Demo – See how products and processes are modeled and environmentally analyzed in the world’s leading LCA software.
  • Impact Estimator Training – Learn how to use this software, which illustrates the environmental effects of changes in shape, design or material make-up of a building and allows designers to optimize operating and embodied energy effects over the complete building life cycle.
  • EcoCalculator Training – Acquire the skills for evaluating and comparing the environmental effects of building assemblies using this free online tool.

WoodWorks technical directors spend a lot of time providing design professionals with information that supports their decision to choose wood for its environmental attributes—whether the objective is to secure a green building rating through Green Globes or LEED, adhere to climate change or energy legislation, or simply contribute to a more sustainable building. Much of the evidence for wood’s green credentials comes down to its environmental impacts when considered using LCA.

For the record, here’s a quick summary of the characteristics that make wood an inherently ‘green’ building material:

  • It grows naturally, using energy from the sun.
  • It’s the only major building material that’s renewable and sustainable.
  • When considered over its life cycle, wood outperforms steel, concrete and other materials in terms of embodied energy, air and water pollution, and other impact indicators.
  • It contributes to a building’s energy efficiency.
  • It has a positive effect on indoor air quality.
  • It helps to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere because it continues to store carbon absorbed during a tree’s growing cycle. When substituted for steel or concrete, wood also contributes to “avoided” emissions that would have resulted from fossil fuel-intensive manufacturing processes.

For more detailed information, have a look at the WoodWorks information sheet, Wood and Green Building, or the web pages under Sustainable Design. To register for the Athena/EarthShift LCA course, click here.

*Green Globes offers an educational credit to design teams that use LCA as part of their evaluation process, and LCA is part of the new ANSI-approved Green Globes Green Building Assessment Protocol for Commercial Buildings. LEED currently includes LCA as a pilot credit.

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