PORTLAND, OR â Most architects and engineers know wood as a flexible, durable and beautiful building material. But in a state that leads the nation in the production of softwood lumber and plywood, how can Oregon wood products be used in more different and creative ways in commercial, residential, industrial and institutional structures?
Increasing creative, sustainable uses of Oregon wood products is the goal of StructureOregon 2011: Utilizing Local Wood Products in Sustainable Designs. The one-day conference â the first of its kind in Oregon â will help architects, engineers, designers, specifiers and other building-industry professionals learn more about how to innovate with locally sourced wood products. The conference takes place June 1 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler is scheduled to open the event, which is being supported with a grant from Gov. Kitzhaberâs Strategic Training Funds. Registration costs $150 and includes conference materials, continental breakfast, lunch, morning and afternoon workshops, and access to the exhibit hall. Five hours of continuing education credits will be available for architects, engineers and other design professionals. Forest products companies may have booth displays of their products
available to sustainable-design professionals.
Keynote speaker Michael Marshall, general manager of StructureCraft Builders, Inc., will discuss the benefits and challenges of using locally sourced wood materials in the design and construction of highly visual and complex buildings. Marshallâs British Columbia structural engineering firm designed, built and installed the six-acre âwood waveâ roof for the Richmond Olympic Oval arena for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Other building and wood products experts from Oregon State University, the University of Oregon, and architectural and engineering firms will present on topics including applications for wood, Oregon wood species, high-efficiency buildings, sustainable design, innovative wood products and biomass heating.
StructureOregon 2011 is sponsored by the Oregon Wood Innovation Center, Oregon State University, Business Oregon, Umpqua Training & Employment, the Oregon Consortium & Oregon Workforce Alliance, and Worksource Oregon.
SOURCE: StructureOregon
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