Grant Newfield
MEng, P.Eng., Struct.Eng. | Principal
A respected champion for innovations in wood design and an increase in the use of mass timber systems, Grant's work has pushed the height limits of traditional wood framed structures both in practice and through code development. He also leads high-rise and developer oriented projects, considering costs and buildability to develop the right solution to maximize pro formas and deliver the architectural vision.
Grant sees projects through from start up to opening day. While his projects are often complex in nature, he brings simplicity to design, seeking practical, effective solutions. His practical sense comes from his life lessons working with wood and concrete on personal projects. Building things himself has furthered his understanding of trades, how things are built, and he brings this sensibility and collaboration into all his projects. His ability to deliver complex, intricate projects is evident in the GNW Pavilion, a beautiful building designed to look like an upside down lotus flower. An example of Grant’s latest project is to develop a guide for a 12 storey CLT shear wall system for use in Canada.
Grant graduated from the University of Calgary in 1989 and completed his master’s at McGill University. He is a member of the BC Advisory Group on Advanced Wood Design Solutions, co-authoring guidelines that support code changes revising the 4-storey limit to 6-storey both in the BCBC and NBCC. He has authored several guides, given numerous presentations, and provided support for Michael Greens Tall Wood Study, and FP Innovations CLT Guideline and Tall Wood Guideline. Grant is now working with the AIBC and EGBC on a guide for Encapsulated Mass Timber Structures moving to 12 storeys. His involvement with tall high-rise structures up to 50 storeys and long history with wood structures made him a natural to push the status quo far beyond 4-storeys. Grant also helped develop APEGBC’s Practice Guidelines for Structural, Fire Protection and Building Envelope Professional Engineering Services for five and six-storey wood-frame buildings. He was a member of the Board of Directors for NEWBuilds, a multi-disciplinary NSERC strategic research Network for Engineered Wood-based Building Systems highlighting CLT’s development in Canada.
Professional Affiliations
- Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (EGBC)
- Structural Engineers Association of British Columbia (SEABC)
- Member of Main Committee, Standing Committee on Structural Design (NBCC)
- Member of Main Committee, Joint 3,4,5 Task Group, Mid-rise Design (NBCC)
- Member of Main Committee, Canada’s Wood Standard (CSA 086-01)
- FPInnovations: BC Advisory Group on Wood-based Advanced Building Solutions (AGW)
- Contributor, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) Committee for Tall Wood Structures
