Good works with wood

Canada and British Columbia (BC) province are working with the Chinese government and partners in the Wenchuan Earthquake Reconstruction Project constructing quake-proof wood frame buildings.

The Canada-BC project is part of a CDN$8 million (about 55 million yuan) donation in June, when BC contributed CDN$5 million and the Canadian government added CDN$3 million toward reconstruction using modern wood frame technology.

Based on Canadian engineering and BC wood products that are considered superior in seismic performance and energy efficiency, the project focuses on building new schools, senior citizen homes, and other public facilities in areas devastated by the May 12 quake.

The first phase of the project, involving three facilities, is under way. Work will start soon on rebuilding the Xiang'e Primary School in the city of Dujiangyan in collaboration with Shanghai Tongji University.

Tongji University has been officially appointed by the Shanghai municipal government to coordinate the design and construction work, while Canada and BC will contribute wood materials, design support and technical supervision.

According to the design, the nearly 5,300-sq-m school will include a mixture of multi-story classrooms, dormitories and administrative and common area facilities. It is scheduled for completion by spring 2009.

Two other projects are in the planning stage. They are the Leigu Town Elderly Care Center in Beichuan county that will house up to 200 seniors, and parts of a Mianyang Rehabilitation Center and School for the Disabled.

"These projects will all use high quality Canadian wood materials that will demonstrate the benefits of modern wood frame construction technology including seismic stability, energy efficiency, reduced environmental impact, flexible design and fast construction," says Mike Hogan, general manager of Forestry Innovation Investment (FII) China, a BC government subsidized agency based in Shanghai and in charge of the rebuilding project.

According to Hogan, in areas where earthquakes happen frequently, such as Japan, wood frame buildings have unique advantages, because sheathing and finish attached to wood joists and studs provides redundant load paths for seismic forces.

And the nail connections in wood-frame buildings make them flexible and disperse energy caused from the earthquake.

"Lighter weight and smaller inertia is also an advantage," notes Hogan.

Earthquakes claim many lives around the world each year - a lot are from damaged or collapsed buildings. However, the relatively few deaths in recent North American earthquakes can be attributed to local building practices, including the widespread use of wooden frames for housing. The latest wooden frame construction technology has only been developed in the past 10 years. Cooperating with Chinese officials and partners on the reconstruction project will introduce the advantages of this technology to China's public facilities, where the concern for safety has become a primary issue.

(China Daily 09/22/2008 page8)