Among the four- to six-storey mid-rise buildings under construction in London and area, you can see two different types of construction being used:
- The traditional, most widely used construction material is concrete. Concrete structures are designed to last for centuries. Concrete, unlike some other materials, gets stronger the longer it sits. It won’t rot, mold or rust, which makes maintenance minimal.
- Another option for mid-rise construction is wood construction. After years of study by technical experts, changes were made to the 2015 National Building Code of Canada. Recent advances in wood science and building technology, means there is now stronger, more robust and sophisticated product options for wood construction which allows for more choice for builders and architects.
Researchers are continuously working on new innovations for both wood and concrete construction.