How different are we? The story of CLT

A recent Australian property news survey said that nearly 70% of home owners would be perfectly happy if their condo was made of timber. Would that be true of Canadians?

The world's tallest timber apartment building was just completed in Australia and it has some elegant interior design details that express the cross laminated timber (CLT) construction method.

The building is in Melbourne by 'Lend Lease'. Its walls and floor are made of solid slabs of timber. According to the builders, the the cross laminated layers virtually eliminate shrinkage and the entire building is six times lighter than concrete. It was much cleaner and a pleasure to build.

The use of  3D building modeling and linking the files straight to the cutting machine make everything move more smoothly. The on-site speed of construction is breathtaking, and so are the cost savings.

My Canadian colleagues and I have been wanting to collaborate on the tallest timber apartment here in Vancouver. I am thinking a 30 storey twin tower would be a healthy pill for revitalising the urban landscape.  

Twin tower proposal on the east coast of AUS 

The Magic Number is 7142

How do you encourage pioneering development?

High density may all make sense when you study the population, the surrounding facilities and the travel to work times, it is even environmentally sound, but how do you get the 'risk adverse developer' to look your way?

Well, at Delta in British Columbia, the City team have come up with a fascinating new strategy. Make life EASIER for developers. I know you will be a little confused by this concept, but its true.

BYLAW 7142 front page

 

The new Bylaw 7142 has three big incentives for the boys who like to build over thirty storeys high:

•  Property Tax exemptions for three years (can amount to over $2M in savings)
• 80 percent reduction in DCC's (Development Cost Charges)
• Waiver of building permit, plumbing permit and land use application municipal fees

Clearly, the Corporation of Delta is "open for business".  

Australian teenagers finding the call in Whistler

The arrow on the right points to the sunniest hillside facing both of the Whistler Resort Mountains. This is the subject of a ski chalet I am currently designing specifically for Australian ski-lovers. The amazing thing is how easy the government make it for Australians to own property here.

Here is the plan: Your teenager is not sure what life is calling them to do. Whistler is full of young Australians from both sides of the continent...all doing good solid physical and resort community work. You buy the ski chalet for your family and your kids spend a year working on the mountain, thinking through their future and making new life-long friends, in a profoundly different and beautiful environment.

The great part is that prices are half what they should be right now and I can design an extraordinary holiday home with a caretaker suite, that looks across a lake at one of the most epic ski resorts in the world, only two hours drive from downtown Vancouver.

In the end it is all about absorbtion speed

When you reach the speed of sound you hear a large bang or 'sonic boom'...called breaking the sound barrier, then again at mach two (twice the speed of sound). In real estate this is called selling off the plan...and it can be fast.

This assembly of property expecting to be rezoned for up to 7 :1 highrise density in the downtown core of North Delta, may well be one of those epic storeys of queues at the  display unit and rapid absorbtion.

When I first arrived here, I found that there was very little for seniors (who loved the area); for students (attending Kwantlen University) and young families who needed an easy commute either by bus or car to Vancouver (and be close to Costco). The bus interchange is opposite the site.

Local families rave about the safety and convenience of being close to Safeway, London Drugs AND the Cinema. With three Starbucks within walking distance it is already a true urban community meeting place.

This sketch is a visual aid to show one way to manage the interestingly shaped site, but you will need a locally registered BC Architect to capture your vision for the rezoning.

Do call me, if you are interested in the assembled property. At 7:1 FAR it is great value. The City recently approved a high rise at 4.6:1 a few blocks away but what we have here is a true downtown core site.

Nature Responding to Architecture

Neils and I worked to create a school hall building nestled into the landscape for this Steiner School. The building was designed to quietly tuck into the gentle slope, but with a large expanse of window at the end facing the sun, to keep the indoor environment light and cheerful.

Later, as if to respond to the design intent, a massive flowering bush took over the end of the building.

Heritage Building: Driving the Design with Detailing (Part Three: The Castle Kitchen)

 My colleague and friend Richard Vaughan and I designed the 'Castle Kitchen'. It was a time of intense analysis and joyful resolution of mixing old and new. 

Here are a couple of the elements: 

A stainless steel pot hanging frame over the stove was designed to be strong enough to carry a substantial number of pots and utensils. See top left of the photo and detail below.

An appliance cupboard and built in steamer was designed so that the heavy appliances could remain on the bench behind a slotted timber tambor, expertly crafted by Richard. The stainless steel hanging frame detail was repeated over the tambor, to be extra 'castle like'. 

Heritage Building: Driving the Design with Detailing (Part Two: Concealed sliding door)

This is a 'how to' detail for retrofitting a sliding glass door over an existing wall opening so that it appears to slide in the wall.

Because it is a heritage listed Castle, the detailing was sculptured with an historic pelmet and a paneled wall appearance. Cool concealed elements are always fun in a mysterious castle...


next time: castle kitchen design...

Heritage Building: Driving the Design with Detailing (Part One: Big Dining Room Door)

A new opening in a thick castle wall called for a tall order door. We had already decided to make the skirting extra high, which meant extra thick (36mm). So I could use the existing door architrave profile (19mm thick), the 40 x 55mm 'archtrave plant' was added. The door and surrounds were made from a piece of found Dorrigo Forest Cedar. 

The finished door is to the right of this photo. Everything you see in this photo (except the loose furniture) was renewed and redesigned.

next time: detailing the glass sliding door...

Great Building Design Guide (Part Four of Four: "Fit For Use")

The right training, tenacity and experience enables you to solve problems in ways that often cost much less. This is especially true when everything that is built is 'fit for use', without wasted space.


Apart from making your garden smaller, wasted space costs money to build. 

Good planning results in energy efficient buildings that also save time, making day to day living simpler and less expensive. Good design ensures that a site's positive attributes are emphasised while the negative points are overcome.

The end result is a building that is worth much more to both the owner and to future buyers.

Great Building Design Guide (Part Three: Why University? "The Long and Winding Road...")

A University course gives you the opportunity to develop the conceptual way of thinking.

It is a unique environment that allows you to think broadly without concerning yourself initially with the complex science and law surrounding building.

Gradually the understanding of energy efficiency, of construction methods, of local government rules and construction law, is included in the course, however it does take time. This is why the course takes five-six years long.

Through it all, we are slowly learning how to hold on to a precious idea (or concept) through the rigors of climate and the reality of commerce. Of course though, a degree is only the beginning of a life of discovering and balancing the idea hidden within a building site.

next time (final installment): "...wasted space costs money to build"

Great Building Design Guide (Part Two: "Maths, Music and Manners")

Like a carpenter's hammer or a brickies trowel, a designer's tools range from mathematics to music. The logic of maths and the structure, layering and rhythms of music are a good analogy for the process of design. Call the steady bass line the structure and press on from that grid...

Local government regulations represent good manners between neighbours, while the building code keeps everyone healthy and safe.

To pull all the issues together into a unified whole takes a concept. Conceptual thinking involves broadly and loosely considering the important parts of any problem and coming up with a unified artistic expression for the building. This is the joy of design.

Discovering a concept for a building gives you an overall vision that helps you make decisions in a structured way further down the track.

next time:  Why go to University?

Great Building Design Guide (Part One: "The Truth is Out There")

To design a great building, first of all know that:

"every problem carries within itself its own solution, a solution to be reached only by the intense inner concentration of a sincere devotion to Truth".
Frank Lloyd Wright (Autobiography)

Knowing this, we confidently begin. The best thing about building design is using your mind in a unique way to solve real problems. It is called thinking conceptually. Conceptual thinking starts with thoroughly understanding the problem. The 'problem' can be defined by two fundamental things: 

• The character and needs of the building owner and end user

          (the client)

• The good points and the bad points of the land on which the building is to be built 

          (the site)

Buildings are a complex arrangement of rooms or spaces whose uses may conflict with each other, especially as you consider light, ventilation, noise, views, access, safety and privacy.

next time: "...to pull all the issues together takes a concept. Conceptual thinking involves broadly and loosely..."

Site Analysis and Design: bringing order to the chaos

Here is a typical 'Site Analysis' for a multifamily project on a land consolidation of 6 lots.

Messy isn't it. All these apparently chaotic site influences are considered together as you find the priorities for setting the design direction on a project. The environmental issues were:

• The sun's path relative to the site;
• Trees that should be kept
• Landscape screening that should be retained
• The site topography and the surface features
• Cooling breezes and unpleasant winds
• Noise producers and neighbourhood privacy
• Nearby heritage building
• Traffic movement around the site
• Pedestrian access to adjacent transport
• Overshadowing from others and over neighbours
• Opportunity for views (especially long distance) 

Below is the design solution that fitted the City's setback and density restraints along with considering the commercial reality of creating an attractive development that would suit the community. The commercial design issues for fast 'absorbtion' were:

• Apartment size
• Quality of finish
• Sunlight in living spaces
• Cross ventilation in apartments
• Bed / ensuite number and ratio
• Highlighting available views
• Common facilities
• Privacy
• Parking to apartment ratio
• Strata costs
• Long term maintenance
• Elevators and access (especially as occupants get older)

CNC a Game Changer for Canadian Timber

A beautiful, though time consuming, log timber corner detail 

A 'welded timber' structural frame junction detail.

Computer numerical control CNC machines are now being commonly used in the cutting and construction detailing of heavy timber frame members. The machine's incredible accuracy allows huge pre-cut timber components to line up perfectly on site.

This construction detail is created using a CNC machine to cut the slots, with perforated steel and glue used as connectors. (This junction method was successfully tested by a dedicated European PhD engineering student over a five year period).

In this example, the joining of column and roof frame members will become invisible and very strong. The model shows the perforated steel plate protruding from the column which would slide into the pre-cut rafter member slots. The glue actually welds the timber together and the holes in the steel act as dowells, keeping the steel rigidly fixed.

The cost effective connection is so strong that it is deemed a 'moment' connection, meaning the loads from the roof are directly and efficiently transferred to the columns without movement or rotation.

The system eliminates the need for visible fixing plates and bolts and can be used to create very sleek heavy timber designs. The ability to make accurate, complex, fire rated exposed timber junctions using the CNC machine, could well be a game changer for the wood industry here in Canada. 

An Australian in Whistler

In this Whistler home for a local Structural Engineer, the budget and site called for a disciplined design approach.

In Canada, there are recognised styles for homes such as "West Coast Contemporary" (angular roofs, stepped rectangular wall forms and exposed timber); "Craftsman" (contempory interpetations of Californian homes from the 1920s-30s with big roof overhangs); "Tudor" and the 1970's Vancouver Special", amongst others.

A new style is emerging here. It has a simple form; efficient floor layout; and creates drama through structural expression and vertical space. Due its design influences, the outcome is termed "Australian Modernism".

It is appropriate that the first such home is built in Whistler, BC, because as any Aussie snowboarder will tell you, Whistler is the Canadian capital of Australia.

More on the 'Profile Against the Sky'

Visiting a local church in full youth-ministry-craft-mode this week, I was reminded how a building's profile against the sky remains a key architectural element.

The young people had created two room length artworks, painted with a continuous skyline of buildings. The buildings were simple and colourful and effectively showed where in the world they were and the scale and the feeling created.

In these sketches of Montmarte, Paris and more recently, Bilbao, Spain, great Architects let their building's profile and colour create the place and emotion.

Montmarte creates a pure tone for reflection to the Paris skyline with its soft white dome shape suggesting a compassionate author.

In contrast, Frank Gehry's museum in Bilbao creates anticipation even as you emerge from the distant train station. When seen from there, its humourous reference to the agitation of an excited school of fish creates a skyline that causes you walk faster, attracted to the centre of activity.

In both cases, the materials and colours chosen help to strengthen the intent. In particular, Gehry's use of shiney titanium cladding contrasting against the stone base really worked.

Chinese Friendly Space

WRONG



RIGHT

Something that the Western culture loves, needs to be avoided when designing for your chinese client: big, beautiful exposed beams.

It is very Canadian (especially in the snow chalets of Whistler), to have expressive timber beams running through a space, in the kitchen, over a dining area or through a lounge room and even in the bedroom.

This is not acceptable to the Chinese client who experiences these beams as 'knives', dangerous elements that could cut you through anytime. Added to this, for Chinese, the beams create a visual heaviness that gives an overall feeling of an 'oppressive' space.

Design and the functional Church (eight Fs)

Form                

Creating a warm light

Find  your way  

Calming entrance is clear

Focus

Consider space for reflection and song

Front to back

Close to the speaker and each other

Foyer

Chance to enjoy each other

Food

Central kitchen creating family

Functions

Campus of activities for all

Financial

Challenges allowing faith to flourish   

Using technology to save money

Inexpensive galvanised steel sheets were laser cut and used as infil panels to this steel and timber stair.

After designing the sheet freehand (in the office), the manufacturer converted the drawing into a computer file which directly controlled the laser cutting machine.

Extra length was provided at each end of the border to ensure a snug fit on site. The panels were then simply screwed on to a pre-welded edge bar on the handrail support posts.

As the Architect's proverb says: tight budgets enforce creativity.

Movies and the Art of Masterplanning

You enter the movie theatre and scan the room.

Three questions arise:
1. What is the best distance to be from the screen?
2. What seats are taken?
3. How likely is 'big hair' going to mess up my view?

You make a decision where to sit.
Behold, you are a Masterplanner.

























Masterplanning in the built world is just like that. Only, the issues are all about sunlight, fresh air, views and shelter.

Now, like a masterchef, add to your analysis an artisitc concept that will give identity, beauty and coherence to the whole (and make it easy to find your way around) and the cake should come out just right.