Mass Timber Realities: From Good to Great with Timber Construction

I love to geek out on timber structures. I love how they connect us back to the forests and convey a sense of architectural timelessness—and yet, how they also leverage cutting edge technology to continually surprise us with what’s now possible with wood.

In this first real decade of widespread mass timber adoption in the United States, we have witnessed a sustained increase in manufacturing, design, and construction. The results have been stunning, with a cascade of innovative approaches being tested in real time, and the inherent beauty of exposed wood has been lauded by designers and clients alike.

This is not to say, however, that the promise of timber has been fully realized, especially since we’re not yet optimizing its positive climate impact potential. To the contrary, the timber industry has been highly volatile over the past few years, and the widespread adoption of certified wood, providing data on its provenance, and even establishing clear best practices for optimizing forestry for environmental value, is still emerging.

But even with both the business and the aspirations of the timber industry still in flux, I believe there are some actionable steps we can take to shore up progress that has been made and deliver more fully on the promise of climate-smart, beautiful wood buildings. The first step is to understand the high-level realities of the industry from both the forest and project perspectives and how it has morphed in the past decade (see Birth Pangs of an Industry.) Then, exploring the current challenges around certification and transparency in sourcing is essential (see Sourcing Openly and With Intention.) That leads naturally into a discussion around how we use wood in projects and how we can maximize its carbon-storing potential (see To Glue or Not to Glue.)

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge our transition into a new political era, where we are likely to see some major erosions to regulations. Some of this will likely stimulate industry, which brings positive impacts, but a roll-back in regulations could spell doom for our environments and the broader climate. We have opportunities to guide that, though, even laying aside top-down regulations.

For those going to Greenbuild in Philadelphia this week, I also encourage you to come find me, along with Emi LaFountain of Turner Construction, Scott Mooney of Bora Architecture and Interiors, and Evan Schmidt from Sustainable Northwest. We will be presenting on these topics and more at a Friday session—we’d love to continue the conversation there with you!

And if you’re not in the City of Brother Love this week, please send me any musings here via comment or via e-mail at joshc@seradesign.com