Korea and Canada expanded mutual cooperation in relation to forests on various topics including the design and installation of large-scale wood frame constructions (WFC), quality labeling on wooden products, joint research on forest… more
Recently I had an opportunity to visit a 2-storey duplex residential light wood frame construction site in Yong-in City, Gyeonggi-do. The first duplex was under construction and will be used for a show-house. A total of sixteen duplexes… more
Junggoo Cho, President of GUGA Urban Architecture, who won the Excellence Prize at the Korean Architecture Award in 2017, is an architect who loves Korean traditional wood frame construction (Han-ok). In particular, he won many prizes at… more
“The Gifts” projects have been undertaken by the Design Research Innovation Lab at Inha University Department of Architecture since 2013 not only as part of an architectural experimentation but also as a social contribution. A series… more
More than six hundred scholars, engineers, students and industry representatives from all over the world have gathered in Seoul for the participation in the 2018 World Conference on Timber Engineering. The main events of the conference… more
A little creativity goes a long way in explaining the inherent fire resistance character of mass timber to those who don’t believe. This inspiring photo shows a barbecue grill made of CLT panels. It was made by X-Lam, a New Zealand CLT… more
The Yantong Demo Project in Changzhou jointly built by Canada Wood China and Shanghai Matechstone Co. has won the “International Cooperation of Shanghai Prefabrication Technology” award at the Shanghai Prefabrication Innovation Forum… more
More than 400,000 people are gathering this August in Dezhou, a small city in Shandong province where solar panel production is the main industry.
The city is hosting the 2018 Solar Decathlon Competition, an international showcase of… more
COFI’s new promotion initiative to promote 2×4 single-family housing to end users continues to grow. Since finalizing and posting four 2×4 animations based on the story of the “Three Little Pigs”, we have chalked up over… more
Under the current Japanese building code (Building Standard Law: BSL), fire resistive structures are required in all midrise buildings (exceeding 16 m in height or 4 storeys or more). The common method of making wooden structures fire… more
The “Green Book” is the PFC structural calculation manual published by Japan 2×4 Home Builders Association. The Green Book is a key publication that the local building officials should refer to when they issue the building… more
I recently had the opportunity to travel in Hokkaido to conduct market research on the possibility of Douglas Fir Larch J-Grade in Japan. With market research consultant Mr. Iida, I visited nine companies between July 23rd and 25th. Over… more
Between January and June, wooden non-residential starts totaled 9,056 units representing a total of 1,666,012m2 of total floor area. Translated into forest products demand, non-residential wood consumption is roughly estimated at just… more
Overall housing market activity is showing signs of slowing over the second quarter. June total housing starts fell 7.1% to 81,275 units for the third consecutive monthly decline. The “mansion” condominium starts fell 36.2%, weighing… more
On August 21st we took the opportunity at our COFI Shippers Meeting to present our Fumoto san with a Certificate of Appreciation for 20 years of service. Fumoto san has played a pivotal role on numerous technical initiatives and has… more
On June 21st, Canada Wood’s Shawn Lawlor delivered a guest lecture to 75 architecture program students at the Showa Women’s University in Tokyo. The event was in collaboration with the Japan 2×4 Home Builders Association. In my… more
Total May housing starts fell 1.3% to 79,539 units. The declines were uneven based on markets and building types. The mansion condominium market posted the strongest results with a 20.7% increase. Wooden starts fell 3.0% to 43,399 units…. more
In recent economic news Japan continues to forge ahead with free trade and has formally approved gambling resorts. On the trade front, CPTPP negotiators met in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture in July to expedite implementation of the… more
While most people in Korea live in apartments, transactions of detached single family houses have increased every year since the 2010’s.
According to house transactions by housing type surveyed by the Korea Appraisal Board, transactions… more
The Advanced Technology Construction Training (ATCT) in its 14th year was held in Chilliwack, BC, Canada, from July 3 to 13, 2018 for 18 participants from Korea – 5 designers and architects, 10 builders and contractors, 1 building… more
