Phil Silverstein, Principal at Moriyama Teshima Architects, was a guest speaker on TVO’s The Agenda with Steve Paikin, episode “Will Wood Revolutionize Modern Construction?”. His segment discussed the current climate of employing wood as a primary structural material in large-scale projects, beyond that of traditional single-family dwellings, and included panel members Christoper Williams of Timber Systems, Steven Craft of CHM Fire Consultants, and Anne Koven of Mass Timber Institute.

Phil, who is currently the Project Manager on Limberlost Place (our 10-storey mass timber project with Acton Ostry Architects under construction at George Brown College), talked about his experience working on this one-of-a-kind building, and what the project means for sustainable building practices for Canada and beyond. Talking about the environmental implications of using mass timber, he says:

“One thing that isn’t really factored into buildings like this is the carbon sequestering nature of the wood. The tree takes the carbon dioxide, stores the carbon in the fibres, and the by-product is oxygen. So, it’s a carbon sequestering material that we’ve now placed into our building. We’re holding onto that carbon and we’re regrowing those forests for future use of more buildings.
– Phil Silverstein, Moriyama Teshima Architects