By Andrea Yu
The first massive wood -built warehouse of Noord -America in Brampton, Canada, about 45 minutes northwest of Toronto, was profiled this week on Naiop’s CR.Converge Conference in Toronto.
Bulit by San Francisco based Reit Prologis, the facility of 246,000 square base was made using glued wood columns and rays, three-piece cross-aginated wooden roof panels and sin bundles-a waved technology for steel beam. This achieved a reduction of 62% in the total embodied carbon emissions compared to a traditional warehouse. The roof construction, columns and rays are where the biggest differences are seen, with an improvement of 79% to 94% in embodied carbon emissions.
The construction of the massive wood warehouse was completed earlier this year. Bill Bates, vice-president and investment officer of Prologis, explained that the project came about during a slower period after the soil, so that the company could explore the time and space and make decisions with what he called a ‘entrepreneurial spirit’.
“We wanted to take a big swing,” he said. “We wanted to insulate a facility where we can show our customers how we can help them achieve their sustainability goals,” added that the company had various frank conversations with their top customers throughout the entire process.
Prologis collaborated with true Malcomb to bring the project to life. Frank di Roma, regional vice-president in true Malcomb, explained that all major wood components of the building were pre-cut and then assembled on site, which ensures a fast meeting. “It was much faster than the conventional [method] Because everything came in and was put together like Legos, “Di Roma explained. The wood was even pre -cut with holes for guidance and pipes. “There is a lot in advance for the building, especially for the sprinkler line and the management that went through the rays. Pre-development and pre-engineering ensure that everything works before it actually appears on the site.”
It was important that the project meets the high standards of other class A facilities built by Prologis. “Nothing has changed in terms of the Bay size, the Speed Bay or the column grid,” said Di Roma. “It is exactly the same. I think it is really important that when you release a product, you have not changed your prototype to terms of building the layout.”
However, the interior of the building is aesthetically striking, with the heat and aroma of exposed wood visible to its passengers. Bates joked that the best feedback he received from a visitor from the site was that it was ‘the nicest sauna in Canada’.
“It was about the appearance and the feeling and the warmth that the facility offers,” Bates said. “It may sound a bit weird, but as a Canadian child I get nostalgic about the sauna or cabinveer.”
Bates admits that the facility was not cheap to produce, given the higher product costs and longer timelines. “I can’t give you a specific number, but I can tell you that innovation is not free,” he said. “The Shell component of this building is more expensive.” However, he is convinced that the construction time lines will sharpen with later builds and that the project will have a valuable return on investment. “As altruistic as I make it look, we feel that we have built a better building with a timeline long enough that will be more valuable in the future,” Bates explains.
Although the building is currently not occupied, the space can fit with a wide range of tenants. “We have everyone touring, from the WHOs who of multinational technology companies to goods with consumer packaged to everything that has to do with clothing or fashion,” Bates said. Given the natural isolative properties of wood, Bates would like to see the operational carbon figures of the facility after a tenant enters. “That is actually what we are most enthusiastic about,” he said. “In the next phase of the analysis, we assume that there will be a number of efficiency in the energy needed to heat or cool the facility. As a real estate, I can’t wait to get into that data and use it as another reason why our customers should look at this approach.”
Featured photo thanks to Prologis.
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