There is a resurgence in the use of wood with the advent of mass timber building products—a topic we explore in our recent review of 80 Atlantic by Quadrangle, and in a mass timber primer by David Bowick of Blackwell Structural Engineers.
Looking to the international scene, how are architects around the world working with the material properties of mass timber in their designs? How is the global design community responding to the challenge to create tall wood buildings? Are the sustainable attributes of wood influencing its use in place of other structural materials? How can different materials be integrated to create innovative buildings?
Join us at the International Architectural Roundtable – Mass Timber: Provocative Possibilities of Inventive Design with Wood to learn how mass timber is transforming architectural design and creating beautiful, versatile spaces.
When: Wednesday, December 4 from 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM
Where: The Buildings Show – Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building
Canadian Architect magazine is a sponsor of the event, and together with The Buildings Show, is pleased to offer a complimentary pass to all architects.
Space is limited, so register today to reserve your spot! The complimentary ticket promo code IART19 has been pre-applied at this registration link, so all you need to do is simply complete your registration.
About the presenters:
Alan Organschi
Principal at Gray Organschi Architecture
Alan Organschi is a principal and partner at Gray Organschi Architecture, an award-winning architectural practice in New Haven, Connecticut recognized internationally for its integration of design, construction, and environmental research. He is also the founder of the fabrication workshop and construction management firm JIG Design Build which produced the Ecological Living Module, a fully self-sustaining micro-house for the United Nations Environment Program.
As a faculty member at the Yale School of Architecture, Mr. Organschi serves as Coordinator of the Jim Vlock First Year Building Project and a Senior Critic in Architectural Design and Building Technology. In a recent initiative, he will take on the directorship of the new Yale Building Project LAB, conducting advanced research in the contemporary building sector, its global environmental impacts, and its potential to mitigate climate change through the adoption of bio-based building assemblies.
His current research project, the Timber City Initiative, is supported by the Hines Research Fund for Advanced Sustainability, the SITRA Fund for the Circular Economy, and the US Forest Service Innovation Grant Program and examines the application of emerging structural wood technologies to the construction of global cities.
He has written and lectured extensively on the carbon sequestration benefits of biogenic material substitution in dense urban building and civil infrastructure and is co-author of the upcoming book The Carbon Guidebook: A Field Manual For Building Designers. In 2012, Mr. Organschi and his partner Elizabeth Gray were honored for their work with an Arts and Letters Award in Architecture by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Andrew Waugh
Founding Director at Waugh Thistleton Architects Inc.
Over the last 20 years of practice, Andrew has designed a number of award-winning schemes from cinemas to synagogues, social housing to shopping centres. A dedicated advocate of low carbon construction, Andrew encourages clients to look at new technologies and innovative methods of construction. He was responsible for the design of the pioneering Stadhaus, the first tall urban housing project to be constructed entirely from prefabricated solid timber. Andrew was awarded the RIBA President’s Medal for Research for this project in 2010. Waugh Thistleton Architects was shortlisted last year for the prestigious Stirling Prize for their design of Bushey Cemetery in north London, constructed from rammed earth. This November, Andrew and his team at Waugh Thistleton won a Wood Award for MultiPLY, a carbon-neutral, modular cross-laminated tulipwood pavilion first unveiled during the London Design Festival in 2018.
This month has also seen the European Union announce that Waugh Thistleton will be part of a multi-million Euro Build-in-Wood project—a braintrust of thought leaders (including EllisDon from Mississauga) empowered to find solutions to reduce CO2 emissions through increased use of engineered timber in multi storey buildings across the continent.
Driven by a passion for design, Andrew continues to research from within the practice. He lectures across the world with a focus on sustainability, timber construction and the future of architecture. Andrew is a visiting Professor of Architecture at The University of Sheffield.
Do Janne Vermeulen
Partner/Architect at Team V Architecture
Do Janne Vermeulen studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture (University College London). She finished her Diploma in 2002 after internships at UNStudio and ANA architects and started work at Rick Mather Architects in London, where she worked on the design for the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond, USA.
From 2005 until July 2013 she has been part of Meyer en Van Schooten Architecten, as project architect and senior architect. Among other projects, her main responsibilities have been the renovation of the Ministry of Finance, the new Kromhout Barracks in Utrecht and HAGA Hospital in The Hague.
As partner at Team V Architecture, Do Janne leads the design-direction, together with Jeroen van Schooten. She is responsible for the design of the Y-Towers, a Congress Hotel and Residential Tower located at the IJ-river in Amsterdam, the renovation of the Atlas (main) University Building of Technical University Eindhoven, the 73 meter high timber hybrid residential tower HAUT in Amsterdam and Op Dreef student housing in Utrecht.
Do Janne has taught at the Bartlett School of Architecture and been on the jury of several architecture awards, including the Dutch Concrete Award, chairman of the Next Step Program for brilliant young architects by Royal Institute of Dutch Architects and the local jury of the RIBA International Prize.
Elsa Lam
Editor at Canadian Architect
Elsa Lam is editor of Canadian Architect magazine. She holds a doctorate in architectural history and theory from Columbia University, completed under the supervision of Kenneth Frampton and Vittoria di Palma. She previously studied architectural history at McGill University and architectural design at the University of Waterloo. Elsa has written extensively for architecture magazines and collaborated on the editing and writing of several books on design history. Previous to her role at Canadian Architect, she worked with the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal.
Michael Green
Principal at MGA | MICHAEL GREEN ARCHITECTURE
Michael Green is an award-winning architect known for his research, leadership, and advocacy in promoting the use of wood, new technology and innovation in the built environment. He lectures internationally on the subject, including his TED talk, “Why We Should Build Wooden Skyscrapers.”
Based in Vancouver, Canada, Michael founded MGA to create meaningful and sustainable change in building through innovation in construction sciences and design. He and his team are ambitiously extending the boundaries of mass timber construction, having completed some of the largest modern timber buildings in the world, including The Wood Innovation Design Centre and T3 Minneapolis.
Michael is also the founder of DBR | Design Build Research and TOE | Timber Online Education, a non-profit school and research platform dedicated to teaching the design and construction of socially, culturally and environmentally relevant student-led installations, with a focus in systemic change in building for climate, environment, disaster and global shelter needs.
Michael is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada and has been honoured with North America’s most prestigious awards, including two RAIC Innovation Awards and three Governor General’s Medals. In 2014, Michael received an honourary doctorate degree from the University of Northern British Columbia. He is the co-author of ‘The Case for Tall Wood Buildings,’ now in its second edition, and ‘Tall Wood Buildings: Design, Construction and Performance.’ An avid traveler and adventurer, Michael has explored remote regions on every continent and loves ice climbing. mountaineering, ocean kayaking and biking.