WIDC Engineering Program Lead Named
Wood Innovation and Design Centre "unwrapped" this week., – photo 250News
Prince George, B.C.- Just as the winter wrap is peeled away from the Wood Innovation Centre, UNBC is revealing who will lead the programs that will be housed at that facility.
UNBC has announced that Dr. Guido Wimmers will be the inaugural program lead for the proposed Master of Engineering in Integrated Wood Design program that will be housed at the WIDC.
With a background in sustainable engineering and architecture, he will help build a curriculum that will give students the skills they need to find innovative new ways to use wood and improve on existing wood engineering.
Wimmers envisions a future where wood will become the dominate building material around the world.
“If you look at the 18th century, everything was brick. In the 19th century it was all about steel, the last century was mainly about concrete” says Wimmers, “but the future is all about wood and biomass, our only sustainable building material.”
The Wood Innovation design Centre is 6 storeys, but Wimmers sees it as a model for future wood structures that could reach 30 storeys high.
The architect of the Wood Innovation Design Centre, Michael Green, will be honoured at UNBC convocation this Friday with an honourary degree. Green is a proponent for wood construction, and shares the vision for wooden skyscrapers.
Comments
Yes, pitter patter, cut down every tree we see, just like England and Most of Europe did in the 17th, 18th and 19th century.
Wooden sky scraper. Build this in Vanderhoof, and it would be considered a skyscraper.
And where will the students live who go there? Not really a lot of rentals within walking distance to it are there? Are they all expected to be bussed in?
When I went to University (admittedly a long time ago) walking was our major mode of transportation. The University was centrally located and there was lots of places to rent within a 20 minute walk. In fact, the entire area was geared towards servicing the University.
There will be an acute shortage of students for this program, especially when you consider that similar programs are offered at UBC, and other Universities in Canada, the USA, and Europe.
Its not like wood was just invented prior to this building going up.
As usual we are a day late and a dollar short. Seems like we have this tradition in Prince George of re-inventing the wheel.
He Spoke….surely you know about the reforestation programs that have been going on for decades???
Most all forest companies plant at least 3 new trees for every one that they harvest.
That’s a far cry from England and Europe that you compare us with.
Perhaps you might spend some time understanding how the forest industry works in Canada before you make such uninformed statements like you have.
Our forest industry is a very sustainable activity and contributes a whack of money and jobs to our economy.
Palopu….
You might want to take a visit to UNBC and learn about the wood fibre research that has and is going on up there. UNBC will indeed become a center of excellence for wood fibre research and on the engineering side, UNBC is preparing to take the lead in the research and design of taller wood structures.
Mark my words..there is still a long way to go with wood fibre research and wood engineering.
nah gimmeabreak – all you have to do is google it and learn everything you need to know as its all been done before. At least thats what Palupo tells us.
The no of students in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES)have been declining in general and there is a general problem in UNBC that NRES people and programs suck up most of the resources in UNBC to the detriment of expansion of non-NRES programs in UNBC. Just count the % of research chairs affiliated with NRES in UNBC as a metrics.Why the number of research chairs are not related to the strategic areas in UNBC?
This WIDC white elephant in PG is another gift to the holy cow of NRES in UNBC. Was this the Engineering program that the town folks asked for? No. Constructing a building for 7 students and 2 faculty members is another example of wasteful spending in UNBC and PG. Well, add it to the annual $20 Millions waste in UNBC BC funding …
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