Canada Wood: Just like for trusses, we continue to make connections and momentum grows for the construction of warehouses and other non-residential and commercial buildings using wood construction in Japan.

A fantastic example of this is Makita Transport’s wooden warehouses in Miyakonojo City, Miyazaki Prefecture. The logistic company specializes in warehousing and transporting perishables – food, vegetables, meat, and dairy products from southern Kyushu to Fukuoka, Kansai, and Kanto regions of Japan.

The company constructed its first wooden warehouse called Makita Transport Cargo Handling Warehouse Building two years ago. Initially, the company planned to use steel for its construction, but when it learned from C&S Architectural Firm, that it was possible to build a warehouse with a 20-meter span and column-free space, they elected to build a 1,224 sqm single-story, room-temperature wood warehouse.

In addition to the building cost and construction time being cut in half compared to lightweight steel frames, which are frequently used for warehouses in Japan, the combination of roof nail-plated trusses and 2×4 construction which is encapsulated with plasterboard makes the building a quasi-fireproof structure that meets the registration requirements for a “commercial warehouse,” which is subject to strict fireproofing and fire prevention standards under Japan’s Warehousing Business Law, which was also an added benefit.

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