Uses of Wood in the Earth Sciences Building

General Description of Uses of Wood in Building Structure

Built on a concrete foundation, the structure of the ESB Building consists of Douglas-fir glulam beams and columns, spanned by a composite flooring system consisting of laminated strand lumber (LSL), foam board insulation and a reinforced concrete topping, and S-P-F #2 Cross Laminated Timber Panels (CLT) for the structural roof decking. Composite action within the panels is achieved through the use of steel shear connections embedded in the wood panels and extending into the concrete to support the reinforcement. The characteristics of the floor panels were adjusted to meet the design requirements, such as structural loading, fire-resistance, vibration isolation, and acoustic absorption.

Timber Engineering Innovations in the Earth Sciences Building

Post & Beam Construction
Wood/Concrete Composites
HSK Shear Plate Connectors
Transfer Trusses
Timber Chevron Braces
Canopy

The connection system for the framing consists of two steel pieces embedded in the beams during manufacture that lock together and are fastened on site during assembly. Diagonal glulam trusses are located at the end of the building on each floor to provide resistance to shear loads with special cast steel connectors at the truss points. The first storey of ESB includes a building-wide column-free gathering space and the second floor effectively supports the rest of the building above. To handle these loads, large steel transfer trusses span across the building. These trusses are a full-storey in height and act like roof trusses over the first storey, transferring the loads from above to the perimeter structure.

The Earth Sciences Building and Earth and Ocean Science building are connected by an atrium that houses one of the most striking elements of the project — a five-storey free-floating cantilevered staircase constructed of a rigid wood-steel composite of solid glulam timber slabs with glued-in steel connections.

“The use of wood is in line with the environmental goals of the project, as it boasts a low embodied energy profile and sequesters carbon dioxide, thereby mitigating the impact of climate change. The combination of solid, cross-laminated wood and wood-concrete composite panels makes the ESB an innovative project in Canada and abroad—raising the bar for the use of wood for other large-scale, high-performance projects.”

– Jana Foit, ESB’s Project Architect and Higher Education Practice Leader of Perkins+Will’s Vancouver office