Region Archives: United States

When builders complete the final touches on the Sustainable Engineering Laboratories at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, students and faculty will see a sleek building in the heart of the school’s STEM campus. “We explored 62 different structural systems, with varying criteria of cost and efficacy,” said Mark Oldham, a principal architect at Payette, which designed the building. The architects at Payette are among a handful of designers in the United States who are honing in on a green building strategy known as embodied, or upfront, carbon reduction …This year, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center held its first statewide embodied carbon reduction challenge, awarding Payette a grand prize in June for its design of the UMass research building.

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — The US city of Milwaukee is already home to the world’s tallest timber tower. But another, even taller, wooden skyscraper could be added to its skyline, designed by Vancouver-based studio Michael Green Architects (MGA). The firm recently released plans for the development, which includes a 55-story tower made principally from mass timber. If built, it would usurp the current world title holder. …According to MGA, construction will cost an estimated $700 million. The plan is currently going through the city’s approval process, during which it is expected to evolve. …The city of Milwaukee has been particularly forward-thinking, said Green, encouraging development within the city center while also being willing to experiment with new materials. The proposed tower will still use concrete foundations and steel components to make up the elevator cores, but he estimates wood will make up about 90% of the building material.

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science have been testing a plant-based additive to concrete that is 3D-printable and could improve structural strength. The material is called cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), and initial studies have shown that just 0.3% of it in a cement mixture results in a smooth flow for printing with fewer air bubbles, improving structural strength, as Interesting Engineering reported. “The improvements we saw on both printability and mechanical measures suggest that incorporating cellulose nanofibrils in commercial printable materials could lead to more resilient and eco-friendly construction practices sooner rather than later,” according to Osman E. Ozbulut, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, per the report. The use of 3D printing in building construction continues to be explored, as it can frequently rely on recycled materials, is more time- and cost-effective than traditional methods, and allows for highly customizable designs.

U.S. recycled PET end markets have shifted focus from textiles to food packaging in recent years. But North Carolina-based Unifi is working on building end uses for recycled plastics in fashion and other fabric applications, the CEO said in a recent interview. CEO Eddie Ingle said there’s an energy at Unifi to create cotton-like fabrics from recycled PET with the touch and feel of cotton viscose, also known as rayon blends. Viscose is the most used artificial cellulosic fiber, derived mostly from wood pulp, according to the Textile Exchange, of which Unifi is a member. Unifi’s most recent product launches include its ThermaLoop insulation line, made from 100% recycled content, with at least half of that from end-of-life textiles. Available in several forms – padding, fiber similar to goose down and fiberball – ThermoLoop is designed for use in home goods, and in outdoor gear such as sleeping bags and winter coats. 

GREENVILLE, S.C. — 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. …The International Code Council in 2019 approved a set of proposals allowing mass timber construction in buildings up to eighteen stories tall.

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – Trex Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of high-performance, low-maintenance, eco-friendly composite decking and railing, and a leading brand of outdoor living products, commemorated the topping out of the flagship building at its new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Little Rock, Arkansas. The multi-faceted production campus is intended to increase capacity and the company’s ability to meet long-term demand for its industry-leading products.  “We continue to experience broad-based demand driven by strong consumer interest in outdoor living. This new campus will enable us to provide our customers with significantly better access to Trex products while strengthening our position for future growth,” said Bryan H. Fairbanks, President and CEO of Trex Company. …“We are honored to celebrate this milestone with Trex, a company whose focus on sustainability and environmental stewardship complements the efforts of the City of Little Rock and Pulaski County,” said Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. 

The Portland Museum of Art is promoting itself as the perfect host for a conference this fall on an innovative type of forest product. “An art museum is an ideal host for a mass timber conference because art has a unique power to unite people around complex and forward-thinking ideas,” the museum said in its announcement the conference this November. “By bringing diverse perspectives together in a cultural setting, the Portland Museum of Art is helping to shape the future of architecture and construction.” The “Mass Timber Maine Conference” is scheduled for Nov. 13-15, with 350 people expected to attend … while planning has been underway for a year, research began three years ago. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded the museum $300,000 for its planned $100 million expansion, which incorporates the use of large, prefabricated wooden building elements more commonly known as mass timber.