When it comes to environmentally friendly construction, Englewood stands heads and shoulders above everyone else. From the very beginning, Englewood has dedicated itself a green cause by being the tallest wood-constructed building in the entire Fraser Valley!
Although not often talked about, wood constructed buildings are beginning to become more recognized by architects and experts across Canada.
In a recent Vancouver Sun article, architect Michael Green talks about his support of taller and larger wood-based buildings. On top of wood being a natural and beautiful building material, Green quotes the eco-benefits of focusing more heavily on wood structures.
“Sixteen per cent of the world’s fossil fuels go into making steel and concrete,” Green points out. “How can we build big buildings in wood that sequesters carbon, that’s very low energy, that we can grow more of, that’s a renewable resource?”
Michael isn’t alone in his love for more natural buildings. Conroy Lum, the research leader for structural performance in advanced building structures at forest research organization FPInnovations states, “increasing the number of tall wood buildings is a priority for economic growth opportunity”.
“There’s going to be a greater demand for buildings, both to provide service as well as house people,” he adds. “If we can do it with a material that allows us to deal with minimum impact to the environment, that would be preferred”.