Key Influencers of Mass Timber Construction

Mass timber construction has come to the forefront as a construction method with great potential to both reduce the construction climate footprint and to accelerate the adoption of off-site manufacturing. In British Columbia, in particular, evidenced by the BC government’s recent appointment of a Parliamentary Secretary and a dedicated Assistant Deputy Minister of Mass Timber Implementation to lead the expansion of mass timber construction in the province, there is an increasing recognition that spurring mass timber construction in the province will also help drive innovation and markets for the forestry sector. In BC, almost 300 mass timber buildings have been built since 2007 or are currently in development.

This Needs Assessment study aimed at identifying knowledge gaps in the insurance, finance and commercial real estate sectors in British Columbia to better understand the challenges these groups face when contemplating a mass timber project. All of these key influencer groups function within very established codes of practice and make decisions based on historical performance data. Given the novelty of mass timber structures this data is lacking. A sustained data gathering initiative therefore that is conducted, analyzed and presented using industry accepted methodologies needs to begin promptly which is then shared across all key influencer groups.

Demonstration of the features, merits and performance of mass timber structures though case studies, videos and tours is necessary to clearly explain the differences in mass timber and light wood-frame construction (materials and labour costs, impact on scheduling, etc.). Key influencers also expressed an interest in the business case for mass timber as part of the reasoning for choosing it on a given project.