4. REGIONAL SUPPLY AND MANUFACTURE OF CLT
Designing and building with wood is so ubiquitous in the US that to challenge existing notions of wood design and construction is to challenge the very bedrock of the American residential construction industry. Coupled with the promise of being able to replace concrete with the structurally robust but light CLT panel, (with a 3:1 ratio of better carbon sequestration performance) for low- to midrise multifamily structures, CLT poses significant challenges to the perennially risk-adverse construction industry. This is resistance can be felt in the US national heated code debates regarding the height allowance restrictions for the new wooden buildings. Resistance to adopting code regulations allowing 8-10 story wooden multi-family buildings in the US is being led by a sophisticated lobbying effort of concrete and fire regulators, who claim safety issues; whereas other developed countries, including Switzerland, Austria, Germany, and Great Britain, have long-since overcome these regulatory hurdles. Even in the design-rich Pacific Northwest, closely held traditions of designing with wood - Northwest Modernist interpretations of the Native American longhouse - have long held sway over the school of thought in the Pacific Northwest. The ubiquitous patterns of column and beam assemblies, with long, low overhanging roofs are both beautiful and seductively formal. They have been exemplified by such works as Paul Kirk’s Japanese House at Bloedel or James Cutler’s guest house, and have been recognized and reinterpreted for decades in this design rich environment. Historically relying on the robust structural power of the native Douglas Fir tree, the long spans carved from old-growth timber were eventually replaced by either the constructed Glu-Lam, reclaimed old-growth timbers, or later steel and/or concrete beams. After decades of evolution, it can be argued that the PNW longhouse-as-model is finally reaching a critical formulaic redundancy. The CLTHouse advances the local Pacific Northwest relationship with wood, but demands simultaneous performative drivers, expanding our notion of the materiality to insure the longevity of the supply chain. These issues became paramount to the architect early in the process.
CLT PRODUCTION