Barns in the Pioneer Valley

Last Friday I had the pleasure to be invited to a barn tour organized by two of my Architecture colleagues – Max Page and Caryn Brause. As anyone who lives in the Pioneer Valley (the Connecticut River valley) knows, one of the truly vernacular building styles around here is the tobacco barn. This trip showed […] Read more..

Multifamily CLT-Building Completed in Quebec

I just received this great assembly video for what Nordic (the manufacturer of the CLT panels) calls the “first multi-family residence in North America built exclusively using CLT panels”. In their own words: Nordic Structures completes the first multi-family residence in North America built exclusively using CLT panels.  Featuring Nordic X=Lam panels, the walls, floors, […] Read more..

APA Publishes Advanced Framing Construction Guide

APA just released a free publication on advanced framing techniques full of information and construction details. From their description: Advanced framing – also known as optimum value engineering (OVE) – was developed by the NAHB Research Center, an independent subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), in the 1970s for the purpose of […] Read more..

Exciting News: New Standard for Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) Approved by ANSI

A standard has finally been approved for CLT (Cross-Laminated Timber), a new structural wood product that can be used either as a wall or as a slab. From the APA press release: ANSI/APA PRG 320-2011 Standard for Performance-Rated Cross-Laminated Timber, a new standard for cross-laminated timber (CLT), was approved for publication last month by by […] Read more..

How long does it take to grow a hotel?

Admittedly this is a bit of a strange question to ask. However, when you are considering using wood products in your buildings, this question might come up in discussions – especially when clients think about resource depletion issues. As it turns out, the entire amount of wood required for a 50,000 s.f. hotel in the […] Read more..