Mass timber being used in industrial construction in Sudbury for the first time

A Sudbury developer says he's enjoying the questions he's getting about a new type of building his company is erecting just off one of Sudbury's main streets.

The skeleton of a large warehouse glows yellow against the sky, puzzling many people accustomed to the grey of steel.

Darian Sweeney, who represents Bloomington Developments, says the structure on Cambrian Heights Drive is made of mass timber— great stretches of beams glued together and used in different directions to support the weight of the building.

Using this material for industrial and commercial purposes has been more common in western Canada, but is new to the Sudbury. .

The decision to use timber instead of steel was made a few years ago as the project got underway during COVID when steel prices soared.

Architect Patrick Danielson says the decision continues to make sense given tariffs recently imposed on steel by the United States.

As well, he said it's a readily available resource.

"Building with wood is very advantageous for us because we can source the material ourselves and the fluctuations of that availability and cost are more under our own control," he said.

Danielson also promotes the use of mass timber as environmentally sound.

"So by using wood instead of steel or concrete, you actually can sequester carbon and pull it out of the environment," he said. "So this building here is approximately equivalent to, I believe it was 50 cars off the road for a year, just by the switching materials."

As for Sweeney, he appreciates the fact that the architect has built long-term sustainability into his building's designs.

"They're very efficient in terms of heat loss and insulation building systems, and that really decreases the need for a lot of energy consumption," he said.

"And the net result is that the overall package is really attractive to somebody who cares about sustainability."

Beside the Cambrian Heights project, which is intended to be used for commercial and warehouse purposes, the team has a new building that is fully leased on Highway 69 south of Sudbury and is looking to build another in the west end of the city.

Morning North6:54Timber is the new steel for three big building projects in Sudbury

A developer in Sudbury is turning away from steel in favour of timber for large commercial and industrial buildings. Damian Sweeney is a representative of the Sudbury developer, Bloomington's. He spoke with the CBC's Kate Rutherford about the decision behind the switch.

Sweeney thinks mass timber commercial projects will gain in popularity, citing some research he's read about the positive effect of being surrounded by wood.

"We evolved to like being near trees and wood natural elements," he said. "So if we can incorporate those into buildings, it provides a better environment."

Both Sweeney and Danielson says the exterior wood will likely be covered up and not visible, but hope that more of the beams inside will be left visible and that people working inside will be able to appreciate the structure.