StructureCraft

StructureCraft is at its heart a structural engineering and design firm that specializes in creating beautiful mass timber structures. Started 22 years ago, the company in 2017 expanded to add fabrication of dowel laminated timber (DLT) and other timber products to its offerings to help enable the construction of the structures the firm designed. With its 50,000-ft² fabrication facility the company offers turnkey services from engineering through to installation and has collaborated on projects throughout North America and Asia.

In 2020 StructureCraft saw many projects come to life, such as the Idaho Central Credit Union Arena (Moscow, ID), the Hotel Magdalena (Austin, TX), and the new, dramatic Taiyuan Botanical Garden Domes complex in Taiyuan, China, to name a few. Its typical markets include mass timber office and residential buildings, custom architectural projects, long-span structures such as sports arenas, and design-build footbridges.

SoLo is a visually commanding off-grid mass timber Passive House residence just outside Whistler, British Columbia that StructureCraft supplied the DLT for last year. While SoLo was one of the first Passive House buildings for the firm, its engagement with the Passive House community is growing.

StructureCraft is the structural engineer and will be constructing the timber structure for the Canada Earth Tower in Vancouver, one of the most anticipated Passive House projects anywhere. The Earth Tower at 37 stories tall is expected to be the world’s tallest mass timber tower. Mostly residential, the building will also include several floors of office and retail spaces. An outreach center, which was built partly to be a mass timber showcase for the public, features StructureCraft’s DLT.

The firm saw continued growth of interest in mass timber in 2020 despite the pandemic. Jordan Henderson, StructureCraft’s marketing coordinator attributes this to the increasing interest in sustainable building. “We’ve seen mass timber go from a niche construction method to architects and GCs calling us because their clients are specifically asking for mass timber,” notes Henderson. Many of these companies are unfamiliar with the potential of mass timber and the innovative structures that its use can foster—an unfamiliarity that StructureCraft is happy to address.

StructureCraft has fine-tuned what they call the engineer-build delivery model where design, fabrication, and installation all happen under one roof. This integration of engineering and construction dovetails seamlessly with the Passive House concept in that all approaches to the structure are considered. “Sustainability not only takes place in the existence of the finished building but in the planning, manufacturing, and erection of the structure. Fresh and innovative engineering ideas optimize a design for operation and beauty. Careful planning in computational design and BIM results in early price commitment and cost-savings, a kit-of-parts fabrication, and quick erection times. You have a team of seasoned engineers and builders working together with the client, architect, and contractor to deliver an efficient and beautiful structure that people love to own and use,” says Henderson.