LEED
Acetylated wood allows architects and designers to achieve several points toward credits under the LEED v4 certification program. These include:
- Sustainable Sites (SS) Credit, Heat Island Reduction, Option 1 (two points);
- Materials and Resources (MR) Credit, Building Life Cycle, Option 4 (three points);
- MR Credit, Building Product Disclosure and Optimization—Environmental Product Declarations, Options 1 and 2 (two points);
- MR Credit, Building Product Disclosure and Optimization—Sourcing Raw Materials, Options 1 and 2 (two points); and
- MR Credit, Building Product Disclosure and Optimization—Material Ingredients, Options 1, 2, and 3 (two points).
Acetylated wood at work
Acetylated wood can be used for a range of exterior applications. Along with offering a wood esthetic without the green of chemicals or the expense and availability concerns of tropical hardwoods, architects are turning to the product for its high performance, long-term durability, minimal maintenance, and low environmental impact.
The City of Kelowna Marina, located on the shore of Lake Okanagan in British Columbia, used acetylated wood siding, trim, and louvres on the retail and services structures and visitor comfort station. The architect, Kasian Architecture, wanted to utilize the natural beauty of wood for the marina buildings’ façades. However, with such a diverse local climate, wood—even tropical hardwoods and common local softwoods—would be susceptible to cracking, twisting, and rot. With this in mind, Kasian sought a wood product able to meet its strict requirements for sustainability, low maintenance, and long lifespan.
Sustainability was also top of mind for the Tashjian Bee Pollinator Center at the University of Minnesota, designed by MSR Design and completed in August 2016. The 699-m2 (7530-sf) centre combines educational programming and public outreach under one roof, with a modern take on the barn-like vernacular of Midwestern farmsteads.
Photo courtesy Upper Canada Forest Products
The architects chose acetylated wood for the exterior cladding, charring and staining it for a rustic look.
“Using a modernized wood product was a priority from a sustainability aspect,” said Chris Wingate, LEED AP, associate at MSR Design. He noted projects constructed at the university come with a mandatory sustainability overlay, which also drove a necessity for natural materials like the wood cladding.
Durability—along with sustainable sourcing and nontoxic properties—also made acetylated wood an ideal option for the Downtown Yonge parklet on Toronto’s Elm Street. This structure extends the sidewalk into the street with benches, outdoor furniture, landscaping, and other amenities. Designed by architecture students at Ryerson University, the parklet is enjoyed during the summer, then temporarily removed during the winter to allow for snow cleaning.
The Calgary Zoo also chose acetylated wood for the boardwalk in its lemur exhibit, because using this material aligns with its conservation priorities (i.e. deforestation) for the Land of Lemurs. Additional projects specifying acetylated wood throughout Canada include Sulphur Mountain Boardwalk in Banff and Humber College’s 50th Anniversary sign.
Whether installed on a busy street, submerged in a canal, or cladding the sides of a metropolitan retail store, acetylated wood’s properties meet sustainability considerations at many levels. At the same time, it offers the reassurance of long-term performance and esthetics.
Pablo van der Lugt, PhD, is a building engineer, and finished his doctoral research about the environmental impact of bio-based materials at Delft University of Technology in 2008. He then held various ambassador roles in the green building industry. Van der Lugt is currently head of sustainability at Accsys Technologies, and a guest lecturer on bio-based materials at Delft University of Technology. He can be reached via e-mail by writing to pablo.van.der.lugt@accsysplc.com.
