Mass Timber Construction Journal’s Post

The hardest part is choosing which one to go on. The 2025 lineup includes a winery, bolt manufacturer, hotel & spa, two different libraries, a market on the river, an educational forest, and SO MUCH MORE. Get your tour ticket(s) today — before the rush at the beginning of the year — because all five tours will sell out. https://zurl.co/awx6

The new mass timber HORTUS office project from Herzog & de Meuron is advancing towards completion in Allschwil, Switzerland. Construction will yield 600 workplaces and be fully offset after 31 years in use. The firm says it is “one of the most sustainable office buildings in the German-speaking world.” https://lnkd.in/guiWs2yv

Timberlab, a nationwide provider of mass timber systems, has reached full capacity at its facilities in Greenville, South Carolina. Since spring 2023, the 75,000-square foot engineering and fabrication plant has supported nearly a half-million square feet of sustainable development east of the Mississippi River. Timberlab at full capacity, with two state-of-the-art CNC (computer numerical control) machines, can produce annually 1 million square feet of mass timber fabrications. “Now that we’re at full capacity, Timberlab is equipped to exponentially drive the adoption of this environment-forward building platform from coast to coast,” said Chris Evans, president of Timberlab. “We’ve already seen the impact we’ve made with glulam producers and suppliers throughout the Southeast, enabling them to fully participate in the commercial, prefabricated mass timber industry — and, ultimately, making it more accessible to adopters.” Mass timber is created using multiple solid, load-bearing wood panels bound together. The International Code Council in 2019 approved a set of proposals allowing mass timber construction in buildings up to eighteen stories tall. Timberlab’s goal is to provide the Eastern United States with a more regional platform for a sustainable, low-carbon building material and accelerate the mainstream adoption of mass timber construction, the release stated. https://lnkd.in/guqJK6z3

White Arkitekter's latest addition to the list of successful timber projects is the observation tower Kärven. A visually striking simplicity reminiscent of a bundle of twisted straws, made possible by advanced technology at the intersection of architecture and construction. The spectacular tower in Getterön nature reserve north of Varberg, has already attracted international attention to the Swedish west coast and will officially open on August 30. White Arkitekter has created an observation tower where the construction itself is the architectural expression. The 12-meter-high and 7-meter-wide tower is constructed with 140 beams in a three-dimensional, web-like structure. – We have worked with well-known timber dimensions. A 2"x4 beam, I believe, is something most people can relate to; it's almost a symbol of timber construction. They create a pattern from a distance but are something you can fit in your hand if you get closer, says Lukas Nordström, Lead Architect in the later stages. https://lnkd.in/gJBwfjTK

A new massive student housing project is going ahead at the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) Vancouver campus, following the provincial government’s confirmation of a significant infusion of funding to cover a majority of the cost. The existing low-rise structures on the large lot currently occupied by St. John’s College on the western end of the campus will be redeveloped into a total of 1,508 student housing beds. The development site is framed by Northwest Marine Drive to the west, University Boulevard to the north, Lower Mall and the existing Ponderosa Commons Residence to the east, and the existing Marine Drive Residence to the south. This entails building 1,333 net new student beds, plus 175 new one-for-one replacement beds of the existing St. John’s College buildings. These beds will be primarily dedicated to graduate students. https://lnkd.in/g5_-KvNS

In better times, you would hear more about the Heartwood, a recently completed mass-timber affordable apartment building at the core of Capitol Hill and the Central District, that puts its residents in direct contact with a building material more closely connected with the planet and the feelings of home. The cross-laminated timber project is one of the first in the country to be designed with full exposure of mass timber in the structure. The newly opened building’s eight stories feature full exposure of its timber beams so residents and visitors can see, touch, and feel the wood. Other types can build higher — like this project on First Hill — but require that the wood be kept “encapsulated.” But the Heartwood’s amazing composition has been overshadowed. https://lnkd.in/gxqxABZB

Wood has been used in construction for thousands of years. Evidence of wood has been found in structures built up to 10,000 years ago. The first European longhouse was made of timber in 6,000 BC. But in recent decades, steel and concrete have made wood construction all but obsolete. All that's starting to change. Mass timber construction has appeared on the scene, and it promises many economic benefits to the U.P.: improving the use of the region’s vast forests while creating jobs for residents, environmental protection, and economic growth for the timber, wood products and construction industries.  As of June 2023, there were 856 mass-timber buildings under construction or already built across the country, and 1,004 were in design, according to Woodworks, part of the Wood Products Council. The council is a nonprofit that provides free project support and education for wood building construction. Across Michigan, seven mass timber buildings are under construction or have recently been built, and 55 are in the pipeline, says Sandra Lupien, director of masstimber@MSU, a Michigan State University program that conducts education, research, outreach and curriculum development for mass timber construction. The buildings include apartments, offices, schools – even a veterinary clinic.  Because of the panels’ large size, mass timber is not usually used to build single-family houses. https://lnkd.in/gqjSVFN9

For Rondo, the Murdoch University New Academic Building (Building 360 Boola Katijin) located on the traditional lands of the Whadjuk Noongar People, exemplifies how lightweight steel can seamlessly integrate into what is Western Australia’s largest mass-engineered timber building, providing compliant solutions to complex design requirements such as non-standard wall heights and fire-rated ceilings. Nicknamed Noah’s Ark, the long, expansive timber structure designed by Lyons Architects, STH Architects & The Fulcrum Agency, comprises of 16,000m² of space over four floors, creating a modern, sustainable learning ‘warehouse’ that has already taken the top honour at the 2023 WA Architecture Awards, receiving the George Temple Poole Award. https://lnkd.in/gnq2GRnA

The forest products industry is estimated to make a $17 billion annual economic impact in Indiana.Charlie Warner uses a router on a piece of wood with sawdust flying around him Researchers from Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources are teaming up with partners across the state to stimulate, expand and support the utilization of hardwood lumber by creating the Indiana Wood Utilization Team (IWUT). Goals for the project are to increase forest health and resilience, competitiveness of the wood products industry and economic development in rural areas of the state. The Indiana Wood Utilization Team will aim to create and implement a strategic plan to increase awareness of the benefits of using forest resources in the state, after gathering input from an industry advisory board and a series of roundtable discussions across the state. The plan will include specific action items on forestland ownership, supply chain, manufacturing, marketing, policy and regulations and public perception. The IWUT team also will design, develop and implement a statewide promotional and educational campaign for the general public to increase awareness and utilization of wood products. https://lnkd.in/g9WuXr6g

The latest design guide from WoodSolutions educates and advocates for the design and construction of sustainable timber homes using a resilience-focused approach to address climate challenges and ensure safety and wellbeing for occupants. The effects of bushfires, floods, storms and other extreme weather events are becoming increasingly impactful on our communities, environment, and economy in Australia and, in turn, the need for resilient housing is growing. The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) reports that Australians are five times more likely to be displaced by a natural disaster than someone living in Europe and the costs associated with those events are significantly growing. The ICA also reports that the costs directly related to repairing or replacing homes and their contents after natural catastrophes have increased significantly over the past 15 years, and indirect costs are even bigger. The result is that many properties are becoming uninsurable and local Councils are encountering additional planning problems. Improving the climate resilience of new and existing homes would contribute to reducing these costs, allow for sustainable market growth opportunities, and facilitate improvements in the housing supply crisis. https://lnkd.in/gPEcbwjE