MIDPLY™ is Leading A Growing Wood Use in Japanese Midrise Construction

Shawn Lawlor

By: Shawn Lawlor

Managing Director, Canada Wood Japan/COFI Japan

In November 2020, Builder Asami Homes began construction of the Kagami Building Project: a 5 storey 2×4 midrise mixed-use commercial structure in Toshima Ward, Tokyo. The building comprises a reinforced concrete first-floor car park, topped by four stories which include a clinic and rental apartments. The building is unique in that it features the use of high-performance Midply shear walls developed by FP Innovations and refined for use in Japan by the Canada Wood technical team.

MIDPLY™ is an open-source high-performance shear wall assembly that offers dramatically higher seismic resistance than conventional sheer walls. It is thus a practical design solution for the more demanding seismic resistance requirements that must be satisfied in wooden midrise construction. Because its core elements are commonly distributed dimension lumber and OSB and due to the fact that MIDPLY™ is a non-proprietary solution, the builder was enthusiastic about trying Midply as a cost-effective building solution. The MIDPLY™ and 2×4 structural panels are being supplied by Mitsui Home Components. Thanks in part to the use of MIDPLY™, the Kagami Building project earned an award for innovation in sustainable wooden construction by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation & Tourism (MLIT). The builder anticipates that this project will have positive ripple effects for 2×4 wooden midrise construction. The Kagami Building is scheduled for completion in August 2021.