Vancouver will host global mass-timber conference in 2025
The world’s leading players in mid- and high-rise timber construction will gather in Vancouver from Sept. 22-26, 2025, for the fifth Woodrise International Congress.
Since the inaugural conference in 2017, Woodrise has become a success story of international collaboration, innovation and education. The event brings diverse stakeholders together around a shared goal of low-carbon construction and sustainable cities.
“I am proud that Vancouver will host Woodrise 2025. B.C.’s entrepreneurs and construction industry professionals are excited to showcase their work and our local talent,” said Premier David Eby. “Our province is a leader in wood and mass-timber construction. This is a perfect match between event and location.”
Per capita, B.C. has 11 times more mass-timber buildings than the rest of North America and is a leader in wood and mass-timber construction. In addition, Vancouver is a centre for North America’s leading timber design and engineering professionals.
“Mass timber is a strong, clean building technology that is at the centre of our province’s future construction blueprint,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation. “Through our Mass Timber Action Plan, the B.C. government, First Nations and industry are taking a leadership role in wood construction.”
FPInnovations is part of the international Woodrise organizing committee, along with FCBA, a technological institute dedicated to promoting the forest and wood products sector in France, and the Japan International Association for the Industry of Building and Housing. As the Canadian organizer of Woodrise, FPInnovations is a private non-profit organization specializing in the creation of solutions that support the global competitiveness of the Canadian forest sector.
FPInnovations’ team of researchers has brought major contributions to the deployment of wood construction in Canada and elsewhere, with the production of numerous guides and reference tools that have helped evolve building standards in Canada and around the world in recent years. These research results showcase the great contribution of wood construction to Canada’s goal toward net-zero emissions by 2050. FPInnovations has research and development laboratories in Quebec City, Montreal and Vancouver, and technology-transfer offices across Canada.
“Canada has a rich portfolio of projects in the field of mid- and high-rise timber construction,” said Stéphane Renou, CEO, FPInnovations. “The construction of the Brock Commons Tallwood House building, an innovative 18-storey hybrid building, which was the tallest mass-timber building in the world, was the just the beginning of innovative leadership for B.C. in the mass-timber industry.”
Quotes:
Jagrup Brar, Minister of State for Trade, chair of the Mass Timber Advisory Council –
“With B.C.’s history as the home of the first mass-timber building in North America and the tallest hybrid mass-timber building in the world in its day, we look forward to welcoming other world leaders to Vancouver and further growing mass timber in our province.”
Sean Pander, manager, Green and Resilient Buildings, City of Vancouver –
“Innovation in wood pre-fab construction is key to building affordable, climate-friendly housing. This conference will help show off made-in-B.C. solutions and will foster the exchange of solutions between B.C. and global leaders.”
Eric Karsh, founding principal, Equilibrium Consulting Inc. –
“Vancouver has a long-standing timber-based building tradition and has been a global leader in the development and application of emerging high-technology timber solutions. This includes the early adoption and promotion of mass timber as a sustainable and durable alternative for the construction of large and tall projects of all types.”
Learn More:
Woodrise Vancouver 2025: https://www.destinationvancouver.com/woodrise-2025/ (can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com)
For more information on FPInnovations and Woodrise, visit: https://web.fpinnovations.ca/woodrise2025
To read the Mass Timber Action Plan, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/business/construction-industry/bc_masstimber_action_plan_2022.pdf
For more information about B.C.’s mass-timber sector, visit: gov.bc.ca/masstimber
For more information about the Mass Timber Demonstration Program and the MTDP projects, visit: https://www.masstimberbc.ca
And https://naturallywood.com
StrongerBC Economic Plan: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/plan