Vancouver architecture firm proposes timber skyscraper for Paris skyline

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by Vin

Now imagine if all these houses were built with a non-flammable material in the fist place......

I have a simple yes or no question for you: do you understand the difference between wood frame and timber frame construction?

[fredinno]

Originally Posted by Changing City

In MEC's HQ they made some of the ducts a feature, and had a ceiling void in parts of the building for the bigger pipes and the HVAC. It means taller floor to ceiling heights than some structures, but makes the interior feel really spacious.


[source: fuelboard.co]

This is Vancouver, so that means you're losing a ton of money and floor space.

The UBC Brock Commons got to its height with normal floor-to-ceiling heights, though. Maybe it didn't need such large HVAC tubes due to being a relatively narrow residential structure?
https://www.naturallywood.com/resour...-wood-building
Don't really know how they worked around this problem.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by CanSpice

I have a simple yes or no question for you: do you understand the difference between wood frame and timber frame construction?

Let's add another question: does he understand that it's not the building that catches fire, but the stuff inside the building?

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by fredinno

This is Vancouver, so that means you're losing a ton of money and floor space.

The UBC Brock Commons got to its height with normal floor-to-ceiling heights, though. Maybe it didn't need such large HVAC tubes due to being a relatively narrow residential structure?
https://www.naturallywood.com/resour...-wood-building
Don't really know how they worked around this problem.

I don't think it's that big a loss; a lot of the "ceiling" in most buildings is actually panels covering up HVAC - floor, ceiling, utilities, repeat. This basically just ditches the panels and makes the HVAC look pretty.

[kaitoe]

Originally Posted by fredinno

This is Vancouver, so that means you're losing a ton of money and floor space.

The UBC Brock Commons got to its height with normal floor-to-ceiling heights, though. Maybe it didn't need such large HVAC tubes due to being a relatively narrow residential structure?
https://www.naturallywood.com/resour...-wood-building
Don't really know how they worked around this problem.

https://www.naturallywood.com/sites/...ryboards_0.pdf

There's some explanation on the 3rd page as to how the HVAC is set up.

[retro_orange]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Let's add another question: does he understand that it's not the building that catches fire, but the stuff inside the building?

I'm sure to some shred of an extent; however his cognitive dissonance has totally run amok. His circular arguments that go nowhere aren't worth my time anymore, it's just how some people find validation, by not allowing a conversation to progress.

[fredinno]

Originally Posted by kaitoe

https://www.naturallywood.com/sites/...ryboards_0.pdf

There's some explanation on the 3rd page as to how the HVAC is set up.

OK, thanks. it seems like the HVAC was limited to the concrete central section, which means that this would only really work on narrow buildings. Wider buildings might have to live with lower ceilings or FSR.

[LeftCoaster]

Originally Posted by Changing City

It means taller floor to ceiling heights than some structures, but makes the interior feel really spacious.

Ya it's easy when you have say 14' floor to ceiling to play with, but in a view cone constrained environment you just can't make sense of the HVAC dropping below a beam.

[GenWhy?]

Why 14'?!

[LeftCoaster]

I dunno, random number, my point was you need high floor to ceiling heights to be able to bring a duct down below a beam. It doesn't work in downtown Vancouver where viewcones force tight slab to slab heights.

[fredinno]

Originally Posted by LeftCoaster

I dunno, random number, my point was you need high floor to ceiling heights to be able to bring a duct down below a beam. It doesn't work in downtown Vancouver where viewcones force tight slab to slab heights.

It might work without high-ceiling-to-floor heights in narrow infill, ie. the UBC Brock Commons, which would make it still pretty useful, since most of the HVAC is in the central part of the floor, where less height is needed and the narrower structure allows for narrower airvents.

[LeftCoaster]

Residential is a whole different ball game, my concerns are with distribution in commercial office space. Res works because you do not have consistent reconfiguration of demising walls etc... like you do in office.