For this instrumentation engineering company, we created a bespoke manufacturing facility and mezzanine office space within a new industrial condominium complex in South Vancouver.
Having seen our previous work with mass timber, our client came to us with a vision of exposed wood in their facility. We created a clean and simply detailed structural insertion in the double height space, where mass timber elements provided both structure and finish.
This project was the first in the world to use Brisco panels, a re-sawn LVL panel manufactured in Golden, BC. This mass timber product was used as columns, beams, floors, partitions and even stairs, creating a monolithic yet natural backdrop to their operations. The economy and simplicity of the structural concept allowed the complete structure to be installed inside the existing building in 16 days by 3 tradespeople.
As one of the pioneering mass timber projects in the City of Vancouver, we worked with our code consultant to educate the city’s building officials on the performance of the innovative structure for fire, structural, seismic, and life safety issues. We developed new details that achieved the intents of the building codes and gained acceptance from the building officials to permit this wood construction in an application that is traditionally only considered for non-combustible (concrete or steel) construction.
