Timber in the City: Sustainable and Affordable Urban Housing

Presenters: Cees de Jager, Executive Director Binational Softwood Lumber Council Andrew Waugh, Principal, Waugh Thistleton Architects, London, England Michael Green, Principal, MGA Architects and Interior Design, Vancouver This event brings together two architects, Andrew Waugh and Michael Green, leading the design exploration of timber buildings, and Cees de Jager who directs the Binational Softwood Lumber Council, a nonprofit organization established by the Canadian and U.S. Governments to increase the use of wood products as part of the shift to green building. Sustainably harvested wood products from North America create jobs in rural communities, sequester amounts of carbon and help reduce the overall environmental footprint of a home or building. Starting with the Solar Decathlon project and continuing on with the Design Workshop Splash House, Parsons in partnership with Binational Soft Lumber Council have been working together to develop a multi-dimensional education and project demonstration program to reintroduce timber products into mainstream urban building. Parsons and the Binational Softwood Lumber Council are collaborating on the creation of an international architectural competition on wood construction with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). Information on the competition is available on the ACSA website at www.acsa-arch.org/programs-events/competitions http://www.newschool.edu/parsons/events.aspx?id=83883 -- RELATED COMPETITION: TIMBER IN THE CITY: Urban Habitats Competition