OAA Webinar: Mass Timber Construction at CNL

Environment Impact Study 

Canadian Nuclear Labs’ Chalk River Laboratories comprise the largest single complex in Canada’s science and technology community. The site contains more than 50 unique facilities and laboratories including a newly constructed logistics warehouse and a science and innovation centre, both of which were built using mass timber.

These two building are the focus of a detailed environmental impact study. This session will present the results of the environmental impact study and other key project information. Topics covered by the presentation include:

• Why Wood? (drivers that led CNL to chose mass timber)

• Carbon Impact (operational, embodied, sequestered, avoided, and a life cycle assessment)

• Procurement (Integrated Project Delivery Method)

• Building Performance (construction elements, energy performance, envelope performance, fire performance, durability, resiliency, and potential for adaptive reuse)

• Code Requirements (regulatory approvals, permit process)

The projects are considered successful examples of sustainable procurement aligning with the ‘greening government’ strategy which supports the Government’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, and includes a 40% reduction by 2025 for federal facilities

Learning Outcomes

1. Participants will understand the key drivers that led Canadian Nuclear lab to chose mass timber over conventional materials for these important new facilitie

2. Participants will examine and understand the carbon impact of the buildings.

3. Participants will learn how these buildings were approved, permitted and delivered.

4. Participants will benefit from the discussion of several aspects of the buildings’ performance including structural, energy, envelope, and fire.

Speakers:

Ryan Zizzo

Ryan Zizzo is a professional engineer and Founder & CEO at Mantle Developments, a consultancy focused on climate-smart infrastructure and buildings, based in Toronto. Mantle helps projects go beyond energy efficiency, incorporating resilience, embodied carbon emissions, and life cycle approaches to make projects future-proof and net-zero carbon ready. Ryan is a recognized leader in helping large organizations and governments transition to a low-carbon future. He has directly supported the Government of Canada, several provincial Ministries, the City of Toronto, the YMCA of Greater Toronto, and numerous developers, property managers, and real estate investors.

Steven Street

Steven has spent more than 20 years developing domestic markets for wood products by creating new opportunities, driving change, and expanding the acceptance of wood structural systems in Canada. With many high-profile projects moving wood construction into the mainstream, knowledge transfer has never been more important. New sustainability targets and an obligation to reduce the carbon footprint of the built environment have put wood products in the spotlight as markedly more sustainable construction solution. Steven is active on RESCON’s technical council and serves on the CaGBC’s Workforce 2030 Coalition, fast-tracking the workforce and skills needed to build a low-carbon Ontario.

Donald Chong, Design Principal

Don has firmly established himself in Toronto’s architecture culture through his inventiveness and investment in placemaking. His project skills volley between the strategic planning of urban and institutional work through to the detailing of finely crafted furniture, as well as research-based design. Don has held numerous design conference speaking engagements, from the Wood at Work Conference to the Architectural League of New York, and has been featured in print publications, such as Design Lines, related to mass timber design.

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