Woodworks at1

By Dwight Yochim

A YEAR after the WoodWorks la.program was launched to support architects, engineers and others using wood in non-residential buildings, field teams are up and running in three initial regions. They're already supporting more than 20 building projects with an estimated value to the wood industry of $2 million in sales-and this is just the beginning.

WoodWorks is an initiative of the Wood Products Council, which includes all of the major North American wood associations. It was established to provide education and technical support with the goal of making it easier for designers to choose wood for schools, offices, mixed-use, retail and other non-residential structures. Teams have been established in California, the Southeast (North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia) and the North- central U.S. (Minnesota, Illinois and Wisconsin), with the goal of expanding the program nationwide as it matures and resources allow.

Among the year one highlights: WoodWorks and RISI partner to develop wood design software

In November, at our Wood Solutions Fair in Minneapolis, RISA announced the Phase I release of an update to its popular design software that for the first time incorporates wood design features. The software now includes the capacity to design segmented wood shear walls and gives architects and engineers greater flexibility and choice in the selection of materials for non-residential buildings. The update enables users to draw a structure within the program, and then optimize a design for the shear walls based on the generated loads. Users can choose to retain extensive, detailed control or allow the software to do most of the work by setting various defaults. The update also includes shear panel and hold down databases in XML format so they're editable by the user, which allows designers to use any type of shear panel or any manufacturer's hold down. The software can also be used to design either hybrid structures or multi-story wood buildings.

The second release will incorporate information on building code requirements, gravity design, diaphragm modeling and design, shear wall modeling, analysis and design, lateral force design, hybrid design and several other features.

Designers with RISA software licenses received the new wood design features as part of their regular upgrades. The agreement with WoodWorks also includes 200 licenses, which our field teams will give to design professionals who agree to design a non-residential building with wood within a certain period.

. Helps fill the gap in wood design curriculum

In July, WoodWorks announced a unique partnership with California State Polytechnic University Pomona (Cal Poly) to develop a set of virtual educational courses covering the use of wood in non-residential building design. Aimed at filling a void in current design school curricula, the project is distinctive because of the collaboration not only between industry and the academic community, but among multiple universities, and because it will benefit both students and design professionals. Once developed, courses will be used in undergraduate and graduate-level engineer- ing programs-either online or in a classroom setting-and provided online for the continuing education of practicing engineers.

Although Cal Poly is taking a leadership role, the project involves multiple campuses of California State University and the University of California. private universities and other colleges across the country.

Initiated by WoodWorks, the agreement includes the development of 30 learning modules for use as part of basic and advanced wood desisn courses. The courses are being devJloped under the umbrella of a newly established Wood Education Institute (http://woodeducationinstitute.com), which consists of an advisory and development committee represented by a number of universities, design professionals and wood industry representatives.

Development of the course content is underway and all 30 modules are expected to be completed by March 3r,2009.

. Gets the message out with free educational events

At WoodWorks, the goal is to give people the information they need to understand that wood provides more value-in terms of its beauty, design flexibility and environmental attributes-for less cost than other maior building materials. all while meetins fire, safety and other code requirel ments.

To help get the message out, WoodWorks teams have already hosted dozens of free educational events. including half-day conferences, fullday technical workshops, and Wood Solutions Fairs, which combine topi- cal seminars with relevant trade booths to deliver a comprehensive learning experience.

Each fair offers more than a dozen seminars on topics such as code issues, seismic and wind design, fire protection and green building, as well as case study examples of innovative wood design. Participants in 2008 were unanimous in their ratine of the fairs as either excellent or gJod and many brought specific questions to raise with WoodWorks staff Exhibitors also reported a high level of targeted interest, demonstrated both by the questions being asked and the need to frequently replenish their materials.

If you'd like to supporr the WoodWorks program by participating as an exhibitor or promoting its events to your customers, Wood Solutions Fairs are scheduled for:

Ian.2O,2009 - Long Beach, Ca.

Feb.24,2009 - Raleigh, N.C.

Oct. 2009 - Chicago, I1.

Exhibiting at a fair offers a unique opportunity for the industry to showcase its products to hundreds of architects, engineers, specifiers and others who not only influence the decision to use wood, but have made a conscious effort to learn more about the use of wood in non-residential construction.

Becomes one stop for resources nationwide

Because WoodWorks is a collaborative effort of the major wood associations nationwide, it provides access to the widest possible range of resources. Our website includes technical publications and presentations as well as information on upcoming educational events, awards programs and other activities designed to encourage and showcase the use of wood. For more information, visit us at woodworks.org.