VANCOUVER - B.C. is moving ahead with plans to build what is expected to be the tallest wood building in North America and possibly the world.
The proposed 10-storey Wood Innovation and Design Centre in Prince George will become a test case for creating a value-added forest products industry around tall wood building construction methods that would differ radically from the way traditional mid-rise and even highrise buildings are constructed.
Jobs Minister Pat Bell said this week that within 30 days, the province will seek qualified firms to design and construct the building out of engineered wood beam products instead of traditional concrete and steel beams. The province has already received 34 expressions of interest.
The wood building would be the tallest in B.C., ``likely North America and possibly the world,'' Bell said.
The plan comes at the same time a new study produced for the Wood Enterprise Coalition by Vancouver architect Michael Green and several others suggests engineered wood...