May Committee Meeting Minutes and Next Meeting

The minutes for last month's meeting are here.

One thing not mentioned at the last meeting is that Michael Green and Eric Karsh were keynote speakers at the PSU Symposium.   It was the same talk featuring their mass timber projects presented at the SEFW last fall, but there is a recording for those who want to watch: http://vimeo.com/92475801

Our next meeting will be at Coughlin Porter Lundeen again.  We will follow up on the energy code and talk about other potential projects.  Participate in the Doodle poll to select a meeting date.

Enclosure Considerations for Tall Wood Buildings

RDH Building Sciences is hosting a seminar this week about mass timber's exposure to weather. Lunch is provided.
May 8, 2014, 12pm - 1:15pm.


2101 N 34th Street, Suite 150
Seattle, WA 98103

Tall Wood Buildings – Enclosure Considerations
The construction of mass timber and taller wood buildings is becoming more common in
North America. The increased exposure to weather and new timber construction methods
pose unique challenges for the design and construction team. This presentation provides
guidance on building enclosure design and detailing published in two recent industry
guidelines.

Presenter: Graham Finch, Dipl.T., M.A.Sc., P.Eng.

Email jkies@rdhbe.com or call 206.489.2198 if you would like to invite yourself or if you have questions. 

Sustainability Presentation by WoodWorks

WoodWorks, the education cooperative of the Wood Products Council, is holding a lunch and learn about the sustainability of wood construction.  From their announcement:

Building for the Future: How Wood Contributes to Sustainable Construction

This course will examine how the use of wood as a structural material in buildings contributes to their environmental performance.  Attendees will learn how to quantify the sustainability of their building designs through life cycle assessment (LCA) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).  Discussion will include the impact of wood on a building's carbon footprint, and the effects of timber harvesting practices on North American forests over the past 100 years.  Wood-based framing systems and details will be presented to demonstrate material and energy-efficient options available, including alternate systems and techniques such as cross laminated timber (CLT) and advanced framing.

 The seminar is from 11am to 2pm on October 24 at the Morton Steakhouse in Seattle.  It costs $20 which includes lunch.  Register here.

Update: The slides from the presentation are available here among other Woodworks presentations.

Free Webinar on How To Do Whole Building LCA

On Wednesday, October 9th and Thursday October 24th at 10am, Athena Institute will be providing a free webinar on Whole Building LCA:

In this webinar we will show you how to measure embodied impacts, examine design alternatives and explore trade-offs for a holistic and life cycle approach to sustainable design.

In this 1-hour free webinar we will cover: 

* Introduction to Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)

* LCA in LEED®, Green Globes®, CalGreen and the IgCC

* Demonstration of the Impact Estimator for Buildings, a free LCA software package for construction professionals.

A Whole Building LCA that generates environmental improvements will be worth 3 points in the new LEED version 4.  Athena creates the simplest (and free) software that will satisfy this credit.

Update: A video of the webinar is saved on their announcement page.

December Committee Meeting and Past Minutes

Our upcoming meeting is Wednesday December 4th at KPFF.  Since our usual meeting time of the 4^th Wednesday of the month conflicts with Thanksgiving this month, we are moving to December 4^th.  This will be our last meeting this year.  We are looking for someone willing to host meetings at a Seattle office in the new year.

Our December meeting will continue our series on the sustainability of cross-laminated timber and wood design.  We will feature Myer Harrell and Kirsten Clemens from Weber Thompson to discuss the architectural considerations for tall CLT buildings.    

Image courtesy of Weber Thompson

We will also recap the Tall Wood presentation by Michael Green.

We have the availability for web and audio conference at the meeting if requested.  

Last month’s meeting minutes here.

Happy Hour for SEFW Fall Forum on Tall Wood

If you haven't read your newest SEAW Equilibrium, This Thursday is the Structural Engineers Foundation Fall Forum.  The presentation is "Tall Wood: How Timber Suddenly Decided to Grow Up." The presenters are architect, Michael Green, and structural engineer, Erik Karsh. Both are leading the international movement for expanded use of heavy timber from nearby Vancouver, British Columbia.

As Michael calls it “the most technologically advanced material grown by the sun,” wood has earned its place alongside steel and concrete in the construction of large institutional and commercial projects such as international airports, municipal halls, university buildings
and yes, high-rises. Wood has gone high tech, and if you are in the building business, you should know about it.

The presentation starts at 6:00pm, this Thursday, November 21 at Benaroya Hall. Admission is free, but registration is required through SEAW.  

One of the reasons wood is gaining attention is its sustainability, made by solar power and absorbing carbon dioxide in the process. The sustainability committee of SEAW has been hosting a series of presentations on sustainability of wood, and this is another opportunity to discuss the topic.

As a primer for the presentation, meet members of the SEAW sustainability committee for happy hour at the Triple Door (next to Benaroya) before the lecture starting at 4:30PM. 

And join us at our next meeting, noon on December 4th at KPFF, to hear more about the state of the art of sustainable wood construction, where architects Myer Harrell and Kirsten Clemens ‎of Weber Thompson will talk about their design to push the height limit of wood buildings in Seattle.‎