Sidewalk Labs wants to push the limits of timber construction GlobeBusiness
A rendering of Sidewalk Labs's proposed Toronto development shows a courtyard surrounded buildings incorporating innovative timber construction.An Alphabet company’s vision for a “smart city” project in Toronto includes buildings made of timber that are five times the current limit, potentially steering the company into the challenges of timber innovation in Canada.
Sustainability is a “key factor” in evaluating the proposal, said Andrew Tumilty, spokesman for Waterfront Toronto, the government-mandated agency in charge of the Quayside development.The issue typifies the multitude of challenges Sidewalk faces in getting its smart city off the ground – including governmental regulations that are years behind current technology, and a shrunken geography for the project that brings into question the viability of many of their proposals.
Timber buildings have long been popular in Europe, because of their climate-friendly potential. The trees used to build them hold carbon, are cleaner to produce than concrete and steel, and are less carbon-heavy to transport, according to the United Nations.Wooden columns and beams are one of the innovative design features of the proposed Quayside development.
Sidewalk has defended the choice, stating that the Quayside land is permitted to be high-density, and the tall timber buildings are accommodating that.“We’re trying to push as far as we can with the mass timber,” Karim Khalifa, Sidewalk’s director of buildings innovation, said in a phone interview, adding that they would look at hybrid buildings if necessary to satisfy the code.
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