The Canadian province of Quebec has a lot of trees and forests – and a nascent cross-laminated timber (CLT) industry. Now Quebec City’s Pointe-aux-Lievres eco-district is getting a 13-storey tower constructed mostly of CLT, with 12 storeys of apartments on top of a concrete podium.
The condominium building, designed by Yvan Blouin, is being marketed as Origine.Origine is being built by Nordic Structures, who are of the opinion that the project has been drawn on inputs from federal and provincial officials as well as research institutes, and will help pave the way for the development of a North American market for solid wood building products made in Quebec.
In the not too distant future, tall buildings made out of wood may be more common. CLT and other mass timber technologies are a renewable resource that packs away carbon for the life of the building. The well-known Canadian architect Michael Green was right when he noted that his Wood Innovation and Design Centre would not be the tallest North American timber building for long; at 40 m (131 feet), the Origine will soon take that title.