Project contact is André Potvin at Université Laval
Summary
The biomimetic approach in architecture explores the genius of organic natural forms resulting from a long process of environmental adaptation. These forms often have a high compactness and an optimal material / volume ratio in line with the importance of reducing the material in the building to limit its environmental impact in terms of energy and resources. What are the natural forms and processes of growth of the form most appropriate to the physical properties of wood? What design process promotes the integration of a biomimetic approach from the earliest stages of design? Based on a review of the main achievements claiming this approach, this project will develop a taxonomy of the different biomimetic typologies and identify the most promising in the context of a wood realization. A digital manufacturing process will be developed to reflect the complexity of natural shapes and flows in an organic architecture that optimizes environmental performance and aesthetics.
This monitoring study aims to generate field performance data from a highly energy efficient building in the west coast climate as part of FPInnovations’ efforts to assist the building sector in developing durable and energy efficient wood-based buildings. A six-storey mixed-use building, with five storeys of wood-frame residential construction on top of concrete commercial space was completed in early 2018 in the City of Vancouver. It was designed to meet the Passive House standard. The instrumentation aimed to gather field data related to the indoor environment, building envelope moisture performance, and vertical movement to address the most critical concerns among practitioners for such buildings.
This report documents the instrumentation installed for monitoring moisture, indoor air quality and differential movement performance in a six-storey building located in the City of Vancouver. The building has five storeys of wood-frame construction above a concrete podium, providing 85 rental units for residential and commercial use...
Timber-concrete-composite (TCC) floors are a successful example of hybrid structural components. TCC are composed of timber and concrete layers connected by a shear connector and are commonly used in practical civil engineering applications. The connecti...
