Practical focus on solutions for wood structure durability in the tropics, including resistance to hurricanes, seismic events, termites, and other challenges.

Wood structure aficionados can share onsite field observations from an expert roundtable, support ongoing rebuilding effort through knowledge sharing, and access ongoing research that will benefit regional wood structure practice.

The “Rebuilding Caribbean Resilience” symposium series is going into its second year, after a successful (but virtual) first event during last March’s pandemic and climate extremes. This year, the Quebec Wood Export Bureau (QWEB) will convene a small in-person delegation of experts, with a format that shares practical knowledge about new wood structure technologies and offsite processes to strengthen the region’s resilience. After the mission, registered attendees can access the symposium proceedings and share peer-to-peer resources and best practices for durable wood construction across the region.

A unique expert roundtable combines the experience of engineers, in-the-field structural preservation, laboratory testing, and mass timber knowledge. The group will report out from rebuild efforts at the epicenter of the 2020 earthquakes in southern Puerto Rico, which was still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Maria. The backdrop of new patterns of climate and insect threats will be assessed along with the NGO and nonprofit community working on local capacity to respond and rebuild in a better way.

By applying a practical focus on the construction realities of island, coastal, and tropical conditions, we hope to offer a toolkit for regional practitioners to impact the redesign of community, adapt to the opportunities of remote work and destination travel, and drive broader access to affordable housing. Anyone who believes that the timber construction community should aim for more impact than it is able to achieve in northern latitudes alone, will benefit from this free symposium.

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Click here to subscribe to the event newsletter. You will receive all the Symposium #2 proceedings and video presentations links to keep you up to date with our Caribbean mission.

Condensed Program of Events

Practical case studies of post-disaster conditions in a Caribbean environment, from Canadian and northern US wood structure design leaders along with local NGOs doing rebuild work.

The roundtable will be recorded and accessible with a provision to allow for questions and interaction for the presenters.

Expert presenters and moderators

Francis Andres Francis, and Luis Re Marrero, on the mission of Building a Stronger Puerto Rico, One Roof at a Time, at the 501c(3) organization ProTechos.

Paul Toussaint, The Forest Business Network and International Mass Timber Conference, on the community factor in new market sectors.

Hannes Blaas, CEO of Rothoblaas USA, on 30 years of knowledge sharing and international wood structure market development from a family run business.

Mathias Oberholzer, PE, Principal of Mass Timber Consultants, on what the mass timber engineering sector can bring to hurricane and seismic challenges in the tropics.

Dan Hume.,Perspectives from a pioneer in mineral salt treatment: 200 wood structures, 40k termite inspections, and ongoing support for development of new factory applications.

Xinfeng Xie, PhD., Phd, AP: Forest Biomaterials, Director:Wood Protection Group (An ISO17025 Testing Lab) at: College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Michigan Technological University. On resources to support tropical wood preservation.

Eli Gould, QWEB architectural liaison in the US and Caribbean, moderating and presenting content developed in partnership with Canadian researchers and wood structure exporters.

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