While some candidates focus on Mayor Brian Bigger’s leadership qualities or whether the city can afford to pay for the large projects on the books (like the Kingsway Entertainment District and The Junction arts hub), Bill Crumplin wants to talk wood.
Specifically, the candidate for mayor says, if elected, he wants Greater Sudbury to be national leader in research and innovation into tall wood buildings.
“In my meetings with people during the campaign, I’m being told that we need to get serious about transforming our local economy while being sensitive to the causes and impacts of climate change,” Crumplin said in a news release this week. “Over at the McEwen School of Architecture, they’ve used cross-laminated timber as a modern building material. It’s strong, fire-resistant and beautiful. It’s made from wood that doesn’t have to be knot-free. And it sequesters carbon.”
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a fairly new concept composed of multiple layers of dimension lumber held together with adhesives. “Cross-laminated” refers to how the layers of wood are put together, with the grain of each section of lumber running perpendicular to each other.
The Ontario government’s updated building code increases the maximum storeys for wood-framed buildings from six to 14.
“Unfortunately, there is no local supplier of CLT,” Crumplin said. “By working collaboratively with academic institutions like Laurentian University, Cambrian College and College Boreal, and with the development industry, I’d like to see the creation of a learning network and the development of an incubator lab for tall wood construction.
“Successful cities have discovered that networks and labs bring professionals together to tackle complicated problems. Here in Greater Sudbury, the world has taken notice of what we’ve done in the field of mining and supply innovation. We can do the same for tall wood.”
He said a Crumplin mayoralty would provide the municipal leadership for a commitment to a “green economy,” focusing on energy efficient and locally sourced building materials.
“As mayor, I would direct the city to finally prioritize the development of strong urban design guidelines, and promote the use of other tools to better achieve efficiency and environmental resiliency in our built environment. And it will be my priority to emphasize the use of cross-laminated timber in new public development.”
