StructureCraft

T3 FAT Village, one portion of the larger mixed-use development in Fort Lauderdale, is a 6-storey office building that offers 180,000 SF of Class AA sustainable office space. Architecturally, large windows flood the interior with natural light, enhancing the open and biophilic environment that timber promotes. The building's structural system features 5 storeys of glulam beams and columns supporting dowel-laminated timber panels, creating a fully exposed timber office. The lateral system comprises external steel bracing, and the building rests on a concrete podium. Designed with sustainability in mind, the mass timber elements are PEFC-certified, and the building targets LEED Gold, WELL building certification, and Wired Score Platinum certification. This project, our first in Florida, comes after four other T3 buildings successfully delivered by our teams for Hines in Minneapolis, Atlanta, Toronto, and Nashville. Developer: Hines Architect: DLR Group Contractor: The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company Our service: Timber/steel structural engineer and builder

Our friends at Perkins&Will have been pushing the boundaries of mass timber design for many years. We've collaborated on some of the most unique timber projects in North America, including the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre and the DC Southwest Library! Read more below to find out about their approach to sustainable design.

Spanning 280ft (85m) with timber for a new recreation center in Pennsylvania. We're excited to announce our involvement in Upper Macungie Township's new Community Recreation Center, comprising four interconnected buildings: an enclosed soccer field, two enclosed basketball courts, and an entrance/amenity building - all totaling 188,000 sqft. The soccer field structure is the focal point of the complex, with a floor area of 130,000 sqft. To meet HKA5's vision of an efficient but expressive and visually appealing structure, we designed hybrid glulam-steel portal frames that span 280 feet. The frame takes advantage of the compression strength of glulam by using it for the compression top chords and struts, while using steel for the tension bottom chords and webs. The basketball court structures were designed with hybrid glulam-steel trusses spanning up to 140 feet, supported by a glulam frame. Similarly, the trusses were designed to meet the same objectives and constraints as the soccer field, ensuring a consistent structural language throughout the complex. Architect: Howard Kulp Architects (HKA5) Construction Manager: Alvin H. Butz, Inc. Our Service: Structural engineer of record and timber/steel design-builder #RecCenter #TimberDesign #StructuralEngineering #ComputationalDesign

World’s first timber-concrete composite spiral stair spanning 21.3m (70') between two floors of an aerospace museum. #StructureCraft #engineering and #construction teams had quite the experience solving #structural, vibration, and construction puzzles on this highly unique structure - the first doubly curved #CLT to be manufactured in North America. A unique tri-axially composite design enabled composite action in both major and minor axes of the stair, as well as torsion. ♻️ Lucas Epp

This is the largest timber development in Asia — in Chengdu, China The Tianfu Agricultural Exposition in Chengdu, #China, #engineered by #StructureCraft, features five mountain-like vaults made of timber-hybrid trusses covering over 800,000sqft. These trusses span up to 110m (360') across a series of #greenhouses, #museums, and conference centers and comprise the largest #timber development in #Asia. ♻️ Lucas Epp

The Soto Office gave San Antonio its first mass timber building and is one of the first in North America to combine mass timber with a brick façade. On #throwbackthursday, we reminisce on this signature addition to the Texas office market, a design collaboration with Lake|Flato Architects and BOKA Powell. The 6-storey structure was the first phase of a sustainable, walkable urban neighborhood project at Broadway and 8th streets. Combining timber - a material which has an inherent tendency to creep - with brick - a material which is particularly sensitive to deflection - presented significant design challenges. The solution, as always, was precise detailing that prevents long-term deflection and allows for a high-tolerance connection between the brick and mass timber system. At the double-height loft roof, two-way 10' cantilevers comprised of dowel laminated timber panels were created with a completely concealed connection system. This unique cantilever system showcases the beauty of the exposed timber through to the building exterior. Client: Hixon Properties Architects: Lake|Flato and BOKA Powell Contractor: Byrne Construction Services Our service: Structural engineer of record & timber design-builder Photos: Erica Brown #MassTimber #OfficeDesign #StructuralEngineering #TimberConstruction

Two of our most innovative projects were presented at IASS 2024 this week, hosted at ETH Zürich!   The first is a timber-concrete composite spiral stair spanning 21.3m (70') between two floors of an aerospace museum. StructureCraft's engineering and construction teams had quite the experience solving structural, vibration, and construction puzzles on this highly unique structure - the first doubly curved CLT to be manufactured in North America. A unique tri-axially composite design enabled composite action in both major and minor axes of the stair, as well as torsion.   Also presented was the Tianfu Agricultural Exposition in Chengdu, China, featuring five mountain-like vaults made of timber-hybrid trusses covering over 800,000sqft. These trusses span up to 110m (360') across a series of greenhouses, museums, and conference centers and comprise the largest timber development in Asia. Check out the below video for a brief overview of each project!   Special thanks to Mark Skepasts for stepping in for me and presenting the stories of these two geometrically challenging projects, and to the rest of the many teams who brought these projects to life including Sahar Barzani, Lukas Gispert, Manon RENARD, Pietro Vinco da Sesso, Leon Treder, Harri Lewis, Johan J Reissmuller, Gianluca Tabellini, Erwin Neufeld, Tak, Paul, Derek, Renee and so many more.

Version 2.0 of the Nail-Laminated Timber Canadian Design and Construction Guide is now available!   The updated guide, originally published in 2017, continues to support excellence in nail-laminated timber (NLT) design and construction across Canada.   What’s new in version 2.0: -Building codes: Incorporating the latest revisions to the National Building Code of Canada (NBC). -Best practices: Including evolved techniques and knowledge. -Market feedback: Addressing insights and suggestions from industry professionals. -Tall timber construction provisions: Adding new guidelines for high-rise timber structures, known as Encapsulated Mass Timber Construction (EMTC). -Design and manufacturing standards: Updating to reflect the latest industry standards according to CSA O125 and CSA O86. -Guidance for NLT in walls: Providing more detailed recommendations for wall applications.   Co-edited by Rebecca Holt, M.Urb at hcma and Carla Dickof at Fast + Epp, with contributions from over 10 expert practitioners committed to advancing mass timber construction, this guide offers practical strategies and advice for the safe, efficient, and cost-effective use of NLT in roofs, floors, and walls. It supplements traditional wood design and construction practices with real-world examples and current industry insights.   Get your free copy: https://lnkd.in/gS_3kGnf Forestry Innovation Investment Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Co-Editors: Rebecca Holt, M.Urb, hcma Carla Dickof, Fast + Epp Contributors: hcma Fast + Epp StructureCraft F3 Timber Technologies RDH Building Science GHL Consultants Ltd RWDI Naikoon The University of British Columbia Department of Wood Science Featured: Perkins&Will FPInnovations Canadian Wood Council Diamond Schmitt Leckie Studio Architecture + Design Inc. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson HDR Proscenium Architecture + Interiors Inc. PUBLIC Architecture Lubor Trubka Associates Architects Faction Projects Inc. James KM Cheng Architects  

📣 Our latest research has just been published with open access in Engineering Structures! Our paper titled "Experimental and numerical investigation of the cyclic behaviour of coupled balloon-type CLT shear walls with high-capacity base connections" is now available. The article can be accessed here on ScienceDirect: https://lnkd.in/gZQGVzFp This paper explores the potential of coupled balloon-type cross-laminated timber (CLT) shear walls as a high-capacity alternative to platform CLT shear walls. Through both experimental testing and numerical modeling, we demonstrated that these innovative wall systems could achieve significantly higher lateral strength and initial stiffness compared to platform CLT shear walls in the literature. We also developed and validated a finite element model in CLTWALL2D, which was used to conduct a parametric study of balloon-type CLT shear walls up to twelve storeys in height. A big thank you to my co-author Ben Moerman who did all the experimental testing work for this study, and of course to Minghao Li and Frank Lam for their expert supervision. I hope you find this research insightful and look forward to hearing your thoughts! UBC Faculty of Forestry StructureCraft #timber #masstimber #clt #shearwalls

World’s first timber-concrete composite #CLT stair with unsupported 21.3m (70ft) clearspan Made possible using parametric optimization, footfall analysis, and testing iterations that resulted in an optimal lamination thickness and bending radius. 🌎 @kfaero Centre for Excellence 📐 @structurecraft_ StructureCraft #masstimber #hybridtimber