A critical asp ect on th e successfu l d esign o f timber buildings is the continuous load path. The uninterrupted transfer of the wind-induced load from the ex terior surface (envelope) of the structure to the tru sses and walls and finally to the fo undation is critical to th eir structural resiliency. A con sortium o f Ca nadian Un iversities carried o ut a lon g term experimental effort which had as main goal to stu dy how wind-induced loads affect a ty pical wood building. The experimental building has been constructed in Fredericton New Brunswick specifically for this study and was heavily instrumented with win d and load monitoring equipment. The study provided valuable information related to the correlation between the truss-to-wall and wall-to-foundation structural forces. The findings identified correlation patterns among different load paths and wall segments. Moreover, the analysis of the wind-induced load data revealed an increased participation of the sidewalls to the load bearing and the structural attenuation of the wind force.
