Mass timber buildings on the rise in B.C. (flickr.com)

Media Contacts

Ministry of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation

Media Relations
778 698-2892

Backgrounders

Facts about the tall wood initiative
  • A total of 22 communities can build mass timber buildings up to 12 storeys, including the City of Vancouver, which has similar provisions to those of the Mass Timber Initiative in its own building bylaw.
  • B.C. was the first Canadian province to allow the construction of mass timber buildings up to 12 storeys.
  • In mass timber buildings, the primary load-bearing structure is made of engineered wood products.
  • These buildings can be one-fifth the weight of comparable concrete buildings, while still meeting performance standards for safety, structural resilience and fire protection.
  • Throughout their lifecycle, tall wood structures are responsible for far fewer greenhouse gas emissions than steel or concrete buildings.
  • The wood components of mass timber buildings also act as carbon sinks, locking away the carbon dioxide absorbed by trees for the life cycle of the building.
  • The Province has committed to construct government-funded buildings with mass timber to the greatest extent possible.
  • The Royal BC Museum’s new collections and research facility in Colwood and the new BCIT and Okanagan College student housing projects will use mass timber construction.