News

As part of edm's new sustainability and innovation initiative, we have started a series looking at various aspects of sustainability in the A/E/C world. 

Mass Timber & Environment 

Wood is the only building material that is grown by the sun. It regenerates constantly and can significantly reduce the embodied carbon in buildings.

Although wood has been used for millennia, the biophilic benefits of wood are only recently studied and understood. Researchers are discovering that wood can contribute to the health and well-being of building occupants.

Wood, in general, uses less energy to product than steel or concrete (when comparing the weight of the materials) and it has inherent carbon sequestration attributes. Wood greenhouse gas emissions are 26% lower than steel and 50% less than concrete.

Mass Timber & Fire Protection 

Wood came to be seen as unsafe especially after disasters like the great Chicago fire, however, a new way of using structural timber, generally sticking pieces of soft wood and sometimes deciduous species together to form larger pieces, slow combustion and allow time to evacuate. Heavy timber chars on the outside retains strength. This charring effect offers increased safety and means that mass timber is predictable when exposed to fire (in a fire test, a 7-inch-thick wall of CLT lasted 1 hour longer than code requirements).

At edm, our team of architects and structural engineers investigate and research the possibilities of the mass timber construction: Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), Nail Laminated Timber (NLT), Dowel Laminated Timber and Glulam. edm believes in the opportunities and benefits of mass timber construction. For edm, mass timber construction is:

Fast – Building walls, stairs, floors, and roofs off site reduces the construction time.

Cost competitive - Prefabrication saves on material and installation costs.

Safe - Prefabrication results in much fewer accidents and injuries because so much of the work is done in a safe, clean, and well-organized location and at grade.

High quality – The quality of construction in one contained and controlled location by a trained, and specialized crew can be much superior to the traditional stick-frame construction.

Clean and Sustainable - Helping to control and to reduce the harmful CO2 emissions in construction.

Aesthetically pleasing and appealing - Creating a strong draw to local investors and tenants due to the warmth of wood and the embrace of green construction techniques and materials.

edm wants to bring Mass Timber Construction to the next level, developing new designs based on mass timber innate properties and structural opportunities of the material.