ClearCalcs Expert Hours with David Hourdequin (Pt. 1)

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Wednesday, April 26, 2023
2:00 PM
Eastern Time (ET)

Structural Design Concepts: Heavy Timber Engineering Pt. 1 (Churches and Chapels)

About this event

While wood has been used as construction material for centuries, the use of mass timber or heavy timber in structural design is only emerging in the last few decades, and not everyone has a clear understanding of what it means.

Additionally, as steel and concrete became the preferred alternative materials in construction, there’s a surprising amount of expertise that goes into designing with heavy timber that not many structural engineers are confident with it, even though they might have a natural interest in timber as building materials.

Join our Structural Design Lead, Laurent Gérin, and David Hourdequin, President and Owner of North Carolina-based structural engineering firm D. Rémy & Co., on Wednesday, 26 April 2023, from 10 am to 11 am Eastern Time to learn more about designing with heavy timber for churches and chapels.

We will discuss some of the most interesting heavy timber engineering projects for that David has worked on in his career, such as St. Joseph Adoration Chapel in North Carolina, St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Maryland, and Horizon Community Church in Ohio.

This is your opportunity to learn from his insights regarding what worked and what didn’t, explore complex scenarios that demonstrate timber’s efficient working capabilities, and unpack structural design considerations when working with timber - all while having an opportunity to ask questions directly from our expert himself!

In this webinar, we will cover:

  • Introduction to David Hourdequin and his structural engineering career history
  • Overview of timber frame engineering & why it is unique in structural design, and what makes a timber frame engineer different from a structural engineer?
  • Projects details: -- St. Joseph Adoration Chapel, Belmont Abby, NC: An exquisite glass-walled chapel constructed with a grid of 6x6 timbers on a five-foot cubed module in a diamond configuration, connected with Timberlinx(TM) and utilizing swaged, stainless steel rod lateral bracing. -- St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Waldorf, MD: A triple set of heavy timber, square, stacked, three-level tension, compression, and tension rings creates the structural frame replicating the traditional architecture of Orthodox churches found in the Carpathian region of Eastern Europe. -- Horizon Community Church, Cincinnati, OH: Crossed diagonal glulam trusses with steel, kerf plate, bolted tension connections supporting a twenty-ton steeple.

All registered attendees will receive a recording of the webinar after the event.

Your speakers

David Hourdequin, President and Owner, D. Rémy & Co.

David received his Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree from the University of Florida in 1964 and a Master's Degree in Engineer Management at the University of South Florida in 1992.

During his career, David has been engaged as a structural sub-contractor, general contractor, construction manager, development manager, and structural engineer. Earlier in his career, he served as Director of Engineering for the Holiday Inn hotel system and Director of Engineering and Construction for the Hampton Inn hotel system. David also served on the Advisory Councils to the School of Construction Management and the School of Business Administration at Western Carolina University in Sylva, North Carolina.

David is a member of the the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Wood Council (AWC), the Timber Framers Guild (TFG), the Timber Frame Engineering Council (TFEC) and, the Structural Insulated Panel Association (SIPA).

Laurent Gérin, P.Eng., North America Engineering Team Lead

Laurent is an experienced structural engineer passionate about all things structural engineering and applying theory, whether in groundbreaking new software or designing innovative new bridges out of aluminum.

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