For months, the world has grappled with a crisis of staggering proportions, the havoc imposed by COVID-19. International travel has been restricted, global trade has ground to a veritable halt, and entire nations have enacted virtually unprecedented countermeasures ranging from…
Considering the performance of renovated heavy timber structures
Nearly two centuries ago, the boom of America’s Industrial Revolution necessitated the genesis of a concurrent revolution in industrial architecture. The exceptional needs of growing American industry required building gargantuan structures capable of housing the operations which outfitted a bustling…
Heavy Timber 101, Part 2: Performance
For nearly two centuries, heavy timber structures, predominantly utilized as industrial and commercial occupancies, have encountered fires and yet still remain standing. Oftentimes, firefighters are taught in the academy how treacherous heavy timber structures can be. However, the performance history…
Heavy Timber 101, Part 1: History and Design
Heavy Timber Construction (HTC), or Type IV Construction, is a term that undoubtedly every firefighter in the United States recognizes, although it might very well be largely unknown globally. Almost immediately, images of massive industrial and commercial occupancies, complete with…