Live Webcams Focus on WIDC
Wednesday, October 23, 2013 @ 2:37 PM
UNBC promo shot of live web cam transmission of WIDC construction – image courtesy UNBC
Prince George, B.C. – The Wood Innovation and Design Centre construction is underway, and you can stay on top of the activity by checking out the live web cams that are capturing all the action.
When complete, the WIDC will be the home of the Masters in Engineering program in Integrated Wood Design and a Master of Applied Science programs.
There are two webcams keeping tabs on the construction. One shows a view from the Ramada Hotel, while the other is situated in the Twisted Cork building on 5th Avenue.
The Centre is scheduled to be completed before the Canada Winter Games get underway in February of 2015.
Comments
Like watching paint dry
Like watching paint dry at taxpayers expense. Isn’t the march of technology wonderful!
Obviously not into erector sets ….. ;-)
Watch the trucks arrive from Penticton with the laminated beams.
boo—hisss
Live webcam to make you board. ;)
Do we even know what the point of this building is yet?
A fire fighters nightmare. Good that it’s near the fire hall…I guess.. :(
” Do we even know what the point of this building is yet”.
Premier Jugs said this building was going to revitalize downtown Prince George.
Premier who?
How are we to grow without exciting new buildings like this?
I for one can’t wait. The revitalization is taking place. It just takes time … and now you can watch it from a webcam
This is the âtechnical teamâ that is putting the building together.
http://www.jtst.gov.bc.ca/woodinnovation/partners.htm
Here is the site for the fire consultants. http://www.chmfire.ca
One of the three principals is an engineer. They are all PhDs with pure scientific research as their background. I know one of the individuals. He worked with UBC FPInnovations and has consulted internationally for decades on fire behaviour in buildings.
That firm as well as others have done tests for the manufacturers of CLT panels and the fire restiveness of the panels both clad with gypsum board and exposed. Building products have to meet standard fire rating tests no matter what materials. In fact, the entire fire barrier assembly has to be tested to see what rating it has â none, 1 hour, 2 hours, etc.
How much of the sawmill buildings built with steel were left standing after a fire raged through them? Steel simply deforms under fire conditions. What seems to intuitive to the layperson with respect to building fires is not generally true. A warehouse with exposed steel columns and beams will collapse more quickly with a similar fire than one built of heavy timber construction.
The building has received a special permit from the province to be built outside of the current building code. Without that, this building could not have happened.
The same happened with the Scarborough Town Centre in the 1960s which gave us floor to floor open spaces without actual fire separations. Breakthroughs like that happen very rarely.
We have to remember that the Europeans have more experience with this than we do.
There are a number of professionals putting their confidence into this building by providing a professional seal after they have assured themselves that it meets reasonable alternate standards. This will be one of the buildings which will likely lead to some new requirements around such building in the next code revision, both nationally and provincially.
Here is a report in the Architectural Record.
http://archrecord.construction.com/news/2013/04/130426-North-Americas-Tallest-Wood-Building-Set-to-Break-Ground.asp
“The Wood Innovation and Design Centre (WIDC) in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada, is a roughly $24.5 million (U.S.), 90-foot-tall building that showcases the latest in wood construction.
“Owned by the city, it will also be the home to the University of Northern British Columbiaâs new masters of engineering program in tall wood design.
“Though only six stories, architect Michael Green says the height of the design center will be equivalent to a nine-story residential building because of a high floor-to-floor ratio, a mezzanine level, and a penthouse for mechanical systems.
“In the main lobby, a planned demonstration space would incorporate wood slats that allow people to see, smell, and touch different types of wood. Large windows open to the street.
“The mezzanine holds a 75-seat distance learning theater that enables students to share their work by videoconference. Above it are classrooms, lounge spaces, and a roof deck. The higher floors contain offices for as-yet undetermined tenants.”
For those who feel that watch construction web cams is like watching paint dry, here is a 2 or so minute time lapse sequence of the construction of Melbourne’s 10 storey wood panel apartment building construction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR8Z-5cyzrI
I always thought that watching curling is like watching paint dry. ;-)
It seems that the terminology for the “tall” wood buildings is “Plyscrapers”. :-)
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