Seminar with the Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University

By: Lance Tao

Communications Manager, Canada Wood Group

On September 14, Canada Wood China (CW China) in partnership with the Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD) organized a seminar on the theme of Wood Construction and Carbon Neutrality. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the offline portion of the event at the Zhejiang University could not be arranged, so the event was hosted via the UAD’s WeChat Live Streaming System, which received 894 participants from academic and industry representatives.

UAD is one of the earliest first-class design institutes established by a major Chinese university. It is a leading engineering design and consulting firm that integrates quality architectural design services and cutting-edge ideas for industry projects. Mr. Hu Huifeng, Chief Architect of UAD, gave opening remarks for the event with CW China and emphasized that there is a growing interest among architects to gain a deeper understanding of wood structures through comprehensive studies and discussions with experienced professionals.

Lily Sun, the Director of Business Development of CW China, delivered a keynote speech on the “Introduction of Prefabrication Modern Wood Frame Construction Technology Supporting ‘Carbon Neutrality’”. According to the 2020 China Building Energy Consumption Study, the building and construction sector accounts for 51.2% of energy consumption with 4.93 billion tons of carbon emissions. The Chinese construction industry is in dire need of a carbon-neutral revolution, with renewable energy and energy efficiency in buildings being crucial issues for achieving climate protection goals. The carbon sequestration of wood as a renewable material have attracted increasing attention from China’s construction industry in the context of 2030 Carbon Peak and 2060 Carbon Neutralization targets. In the foreseeable future, there will be a growing trend towards prefabrication modern wood constructions in China.

Hua Jing, Design Specialist of CW China, analyzed the key points of design for wood structures in terms of material selection, technical measures commonly used in wood buildings for fire protection and durability, along with energy-saving strategies from the perspective of an architect. Fu Weizhou, Design Director of CW China gave a presentation on the planning, design and construction of some wood demonstration projects supported by CW China. Qi Yi, Deputy Dean of Deputy Dean of Shenzhen University School of Architecture and Planning and Chen Lin, Founder of Shulin Architects also shared their insights on the latest trends and opportunities related to wood construction home and abroad.

Being the first collaboration between UAD and CW China, this platform offers the chance to promote the technical aspects of wood construction to a growing audience of industry experts. Two influential organizations, the General Research Institute of Architecture & Planning Design of Chongqing University and Huahui Design Company approached CW China after the event to express interest in holding similar events to explore the field of wood construction. This offers a substantial opportunity to continue growing market awareness of building with wood and how sustainably harvested forest products can reduce carbon emissions in construction, which helps to mitigate climate change. Representatives from UAD spoke highly of the presentations from this event and emphasized their willingness to work together with CW China again to organize an offline seminar once COVID-19 restrictions are relaxed.

The full list of speakers and their presentation topics includes:

  • “Introduction of Prefabrication Modern Wood Frame Construction Technology Supports ‘Carbon Neutrality’” by Lily Sun, Director of Business Development of CW China
  • “CW China Demo Wood Projects” by Fu Weizhou, Design Director of CW China
  • “Wood Construction Design” by Hua Jing, Design Specialist of CW China
  • “Frontiers of Contemporary Timber Buildings & International Comparison” by Qi Yi, Deputy Dean of Shenzhen University School of Architecture and Planning
  • “Wood Construction Practices under Rural Revitalization” by Chen Lin, Founder of Shulin Architects