Introduction

More and more, design and construction professionals are turning to mass timber to build everything from multifamily projects and commercial offices to signature public buildings and tall wood towers. Mass timber inspires innovation.

Growing in popularity, this new category of wood products can transform how America builds. Mass timber products consist of multiple solid wood panels, columns, and beams that are glued or fastened together, providing exceptional strength and stability. Conveying warmth and sophistication, these products can be used both as load-bearing structures and as interior finish materials.

Nimble and lightweight, prefabricated mass timber building systems can be assembled by fewer workers, even on tight, difficult-toreach construction sites. Often modular, these building systems can be easily assembled like a kit of parts. Precisely manufactured assemblies, such as prefabricated mass timber panels, also provide thermal benefits and can help make building envelopes more energy-efficient and airtight. This makes mass timber buildings well-suited to energy-efficient construction and the rigorous standards of Passive House and net-zero-ready design.

Mass timber is a strong, low-carbon alternative to concrete and steel. When considered over the product’s lifetime—from the harvest of raw materials through manufacturing, transportation, construction, and disposal or recycling—mass timber also has less embodied energy, produces less air and water pollution, and has a smaller environmental footprint than other structural materials.

For all these reasons, mass timber construction is on the rise. WoodWorks reports that since 2013, more than 1,300 multifamily, commercial, and institutional projects using mass timber or heavy timber have been constructed or are in the process of design in the U.S.2 Mass timber is quickly becoming a movement and, as a building system, it is a must-know for architects, engineering and construction professionals.