Category Archives: Wood, Paper & Green Building

Wood, Paper & Green Building

Canada’s Wood Industry Applauds Build Canada Homes Initiative, Calls for Bold Action on Rapid Housing Delivery

CWC and FPAC
September 15, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) welcomes the federal government’s launch of the Build Canada Homes (BCH) agency, announced by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Backed by a $13 billion investment and a plan to construct 4,000 homes across six federally owned sites, BCH will fast-track the delivery of affordable, sustainable housing nationwide. “This commitment to factory-built housing and prefabricated building components, including both mass timber and light wood frame systems, directly supports the architects, engineers, and builders we work with every day. It enables them to rapidly deploy quality homes at scale, while meeting Canada’s sustainability and affordability goals,” said Rick Jeffery, President and CEO of CWC. “We’re especially encouraged by BCH’s plan to adopt a ‘Buy Canadian’ policy and streamline permitting for bulk projects.”

Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) welcomes the federal government’s creation of the Build Canada Homes (BCH) agency. “The top priority of our sector continues to be seeing the federal government get the best trade deal possible at the Canada-US negotiating table. There are no measures that will offset the impacts of a prolonged trade dispute with our biggest trading partner. That said, we welcome Prime Minister Carney’s commitment to working with us on a plan for the long-term, which includes building more with Canadian wood products here at home and finding new pathways to bring more Canadian wood exports to other parts of the world,” said Derek Nighbor, President and CEO of FPAC.

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Carney announces launch of new housing agency, earmarks funding for new projects

By Darren Major
CBC News
September 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Sunday afternoon the launch of Build Canada Homes, the federal government’s new agency that will oversee federal housing programs. The agency was part of the Liberals’ election promise to double housing construction. The government is touting Build Canada Homes as a centralized agency to oversee new affordable housing programs initiated at the federal level. Carney said the agency will “supercharge housing construction across Canada” by helping to build supportive and transitional housing in collaboration with provinces, territories and Indigenous communities. It will also expand “deeply affordable and community housing” and partner with private developers to build homes for the middle class. The prime minister also announced that former Toronto city councillor Ana Bailão will be the CEO of Build Canada Homes. …Carney said $13 billion is earmarked for the new agency.

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Canadian Wood Council’s WoodWorks Program Welcomes BarrierTEK as National Partner

Canadian Wood Council
September 9, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

Ottawa, Ontario — The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) is pleased to welcome BarrierTEK as a new national partner of its WoodWorks program. This collaboration aligns two organizations committed to supporting safe, innovative, and low-carbon construction practices across Canada through education, technical excellence, and strategic market development. As the construction sector responds to climate imperatives, shifting societal expectations, and progressive building codes, the role of wood in the built environment continues to expand. By combining traditional wood systems with value-added solutions like fire-retardant treatments, project teams can expand the application of wood in diverse building types without compromising performance or design flexibility. This partnership will help raise awareness of the full range of tools and technologies available to support safe, code-compliant wood construction while reinforcing wood’s reputation as a versatile, safe, high-performance building material.

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Canadian Wood Council and Canadian Institute of Steel Construction Partner to Advance Steel-Timber Hybrid Construction

The Canadian Wood Council
September 4, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

Ottawa, ON — The Canadian Wood Council (CWC) and the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction (CISC) are pleased to announce a strategic partnership to accelerate the adoption of steel-timber hybrid structural solutions in Canada. Steel-timber hybrid construction is emerging as a sustainable and efficient approach to modern building design. By combining the strength and durability of steel with the renewable, low-carbon benefits of wood, hybrid systems—such as steel-timber composite floors—can deliver superior structural performance, improved cost efficiency, and faster construction timelines. These benefits are particularly valuable for larger and taller buildings where structural demands are greatest. To advance this opportunity, CWC and CISC have established a joint Technical Steering Committee to oversee the strategic use of funds contributed by both organizations to maximize industry impact. Its primary mandate is to support designers, engineers, and builders by developing technical guidance, best practices, and publications that will enable practical, code-compliant solutions for hybrid systems.

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Canada Wood Market News & Insights

Canada Wood Group
September 3, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

The Canada Wood Group Newsletter includes these headlines and more:

  • Breakthrough Fire Approvals Achieved to Advance Midrise Wood Construction in Japan 
  • Midrise Rising in Japan – A tour of the Mocxion project, a 5-storey midrise condo in Tokyo built with Canadian SPF, Douglas Fir, and OSB.
  • Onwards and Upwards: Largest Ever Midrise 2×4 Project Completed in Kyushu  – A new 5-storey employee dormitory in Kitakyushu—Japan’s largest-ever 2×4 project—has been completed – making extensive use of Canadian SPF, plywood, and engineered wood.
  • South Korea’s Public Housing Giant Looks to Wood – South Korea’s Land and Housing Corporation (LH) is rethinking how it builds the tens of thousands of homes it delivers each year. Its new study urges timber construction as a key strategy for meeting the nation’s 2050 carbon neutrality target.
  • From Demonstration to Mainstream: How Canadian Douglas Fir is Powering China’s Heavy Timber Boom 

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Wood Pellet Association of Canada Summer Newsletter

The Wood Pellet Association of Canada
August 26, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

The Headlines

  • WPAC 2025 Conference in Halifax, NS – Registration Now Open
  • Canadian Wood Pellets at the Forefront of Asia’s Energy Transition
  • Dr. Fahimeh Yazdan Panah Promoted to Associate Executive Director of WPAC
  • Pellets: A ‘Backyard Solution’ for Energy Needs
  • Trip Report: Biomass Innovations Asia 2025
  • Case Study: Biomass Heat Brings Divine Savings

Safety First Focus

  • Conference and BECCS Tour September 2-3: Safe Wood Pellet Storage
  • Ted Brown, Site Trainer at Drax Entwistle—WPAC’s Latest Safety Hero
  • WPAC’s June Safety Hero: Brett Wickstrom from Drax Meadowbank

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Tariffs as a driver in the evolution of alternative building materials

By Alex Carrick
Daily Commercial News
August 18, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada

Technological advances are also primary drivers of construction material innovations. …Also, there are new types of structures that are economically viable only thanks to their novel employment of existing but relatively fresh-on-the-scene materials. …Plus, external economic factors can pack a wallop and play an important role. Obviously, at present, there are the cost consequences of the exorbitant tariff structure attached to the usage of steel, aluminum, and copper. …Mass timber is making a bid to be the wall, floor, ceiling, and load-bearing substitute for steel and cement in building construction projects. The selling points laser in on sustainability and the potential for prefabrication. The subset products all see dimensional lumber bonded together. Glulam has grains running parallel; cross-laminated (CLT) has grains fashioned perpendicularly; and nail-laminated (NLT) and dowel laminated (DLT) are obvious in how they are tied together. …Finally, kudos should be awarded to the Green Building Council. 

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Mass timber going mainstream in B.C. despite growing pains

By Jami Makan
Business in Vancouver
September 13, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Mass timber is making a bold entrance in B.C. real estate, but experts say it faces hurdles including supply-demand mismatch and fire safety concerns. The province’s mass timber industry is seeing growth. About 450 mass-timber buildings were completed or under construction in the province as of December 2024, up from about 410 a year prior, said a statement from the B.C. Ministry of Jobs and Economic Growth. …Wider adoption may hinge on developers changing their mindset. Better alignment is needed between supply chains and developer demand in order for new construction methods to really take off, said Andrew Stiffman, vice-president of construction services with Kalesnikoff Mass Timber Inc. …There is incongruity between the way some buildings are designed and the way his industry is currently set up to deliver them. …Public perceptions of fire safety may also be holding the industry back.

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Vancouver multi-unit Indigenous housing development checks all the boxes

By John Bleasby
The Daily Commercial News
September 10, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

VANCOUVER — It’s made from mass timber. It meets Passivhaus standards. Construction componentry is modular and prefabricated largely using robotic technology. The project addresses Indigenous social housing needs. No wonder the Chief George Leonard Building was unanimously approved when it came before Vancouver City Council in the spring of 2021. …Designed by Vancouver firm GBL Architects and developed by the non-profit M’akola Development Services… The nine-storey, 85,500-square-foot affordable housing complex replaces a smaller unit owned by the Vancouver Native Housing Society destroyed by fire back in 2017. GBL describes the building as, “Canada’s first mixed-use tall mass timber Passive House building.” …The combination of Passivhaus standards and utilization of mass timber has reduced operational and embodied carbon by 75 per cent, GBL says. …The supply and installation of the mass timber envelope system leveraged the product and technology platform from Vancouver-based Intelligent City called Platforms-for-Life™.

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BPWood brings first ignition-resistant Saferwood ThermoWood to North American market

By BPWood
The LBM Journal
September 4, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

BPWood, in partnership with SaferWood Thermex-FR, has announced its ThermoWood Ayous and ThermoWood Nordic Pine successfully passed independent third-party testing to achieve Class A ignition-resistant status per ASTM E2768 (E84 30-minutes) after ASTM D2898 accelerated weathering; the first available in North America. BPWood supplies ThermoWood to North America in partnership with LDCwood, a member of the International ThermoWood Association. SaferWood with Thermex-FR by Chemco, Inc., is a one-time permanent fire-retardant pressure treatment to all surfaces as required by IBC 2303.2, which renders natural and thermally modified wood ignition-resistant. Approved for exterior use, per IWUIC 503.2, in residential and commercial design and construction, in all WUI designated and FHSV zones.

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Discover Vancouver’s legacy and North Shore’s community spirit — built with wood!

Woodrise 2025
August 28, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

As part of Woodrise 2025, the Offsite Technical Tours presented by WoodWorks open the doors to two inspiring full-day experiences. In Vancouver, explore the lasting architectural impact of the 2010 Winter Olympics — from the iconic Richmond Oval to contemporary landmarks like the VanDusen Botanical Garden Visitor Centre and Fast+Epp’s award-winning office. In North Vancouver, see how community-driven design and mass timber innovation come together in spaces like the Tsleil-Waututh Administration and Health Centre, Maplewood Fire and Rescue, and Lonsdale1. These exclusive tours showcase how wood is shaping sustainable, resilient, and culturally meaningful architecture across the region — and they’re selling out fast.

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BC firms receive $6.8M federal boost to advance waste-reducing tech

By Pacific Economic Developement Canada
Government of Canada
August 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

COQUITLAM, BC — Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), announced an investment of over $6.8 million for two Coquitlam-based businesses that are developing technologies to reduce waste and advance sustainability in the energy and textile sectors. …Novo Textile Company is receiving an investment of over $1.8 million to expand its textile recycling capacity. Novo plans to bind recycled fibres with BC wood pulp fibres to produce Canadian-made textiles at a competitive price. This will strengthen Canadian supply chains and divert 15 million pounds of garment waste from landfills annually. …Novo Textiles was incorporated in 1991 as a supplier of fibre-filled home textiles. Most recently, Novo introduced a textile recycling production line, continuing its evolution within the textile sector. It is estimated that 92 million tonnes of textile waste ends up in landfills annually.

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Tall Timber building boosts student housing at BCIT’s Burnaby campus

BC Government
August 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) has officially opened its new Tall Timber student housing residence at the Burnaby campus, expanding affordable on-campus housing options for students. As the tallest building in Burnaby built using mass timber, a renewable and lower-carbon alternative to traditional concrete construction, this project was planned with sustainability at its core. The building’s fully electric design and high-performing building envelope also helps it meet B.C.’s Energy Step Code 4, the highest level of energy efficiency for this type of structure. The building has also received a CaGBC Net Zero certification. “Using B.C. mass timber for this student housing project is an important step in our goal to build the infrastructure projects people need in their communities more sustainably,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Infrastructure. “We’re supporting a greener economy while also building a new project that will benefit students for generations to come.”

Additional coverage in DH Urbanized: BCIT Burnaby campus opens mass-timber student housing tower with 469 beds

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Advance Your Lumber Career in 12 Months with the BC Institute of Technology

BC Institute of Technology
August 26, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

The lumber and sawmilling sector demands skilled leaders who combine technical expertise with sound business acumen. BCIT now offers two Associate Certificates, designed to be completed part-time and fully online in just 12 months, enabling working professionals to advance without leaving the industry. The Associate Certificate in the Business of Sawmilling (starting October 2025) focuses on the operational, financial, and strategic aspects of modern sawmill management. Topics include production planning, quality optimization, supply chain considerations, and market dynamics. Graduates are equipped to contribute to profitability and long-term competitiveness. The Associate Certificate in Industrial Wood Processing (IWP) (starting January 2026) emphasizes the science and technology of wood conversion. With courses in wood properties, manufacturing processes, quality control, and technical problem-solving, the program prepares participants to step into supervisory roles with confidence. Both programs are tailored for career advancement in the North American lumber industry.

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Final mass-timber beam installed for new PNE amphitheatre’s roof

By Kenneth Chan
DH Urbanized
August 20, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

©PNE

VANCOUVER, BC — Construction on the new Freedom Mobile Arch amphitheatre at the PNE in Hastings Park reached a significant milestone, with the installation of the final segment of glulam beam for the landmark mass-timber roof structure. …In addition to the steel arches, there are 60 mass-timber arches arranged in six barrel vaulted segments, reaching a height of up to 82 ft. and spanning 344 ft. between buttress tips. These components form a starburst-shaped roof, the largest freestanding mass-timber structure of its kind in the world. The mass-timber roof design incorporates both glulam, which offers superior strength, and a cross-laminated timber deck made of three-ply Douglas Fir, which provides a structural diaphragm for stability. The project’s design firms are Revery Architecture, Fast + Epp Structural Engineers, and PFS Studio, and the general contractor is EllisDon. The long-planned venue’s very first event will be its use for Vancouver’s official FIFA World Cup Fan Festival.

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Wood Connections – News for BC’s Wood Products Industry

BC Wood Specialties Group
August 18, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Read the latest newsletter from BC Wood, headlines include:

  • Premier Eby to Open the 22nd Annual Global Buyers Mission: BC Wood is thrilled to announce that Premier David Eby will open the 22nd Annual Global Buyers Mission on Friday, September 5th. His welcome address will set the stage for the opening of the tradeshow.
  • The Tariff Challenge & Market Diversification Panel at the GBM: Minister Ravi Parmar will introduce the panel. Moderator, Mo Amir will lead an in depth discussion with panelists Nick Arkel, Liz Kovach, and Kurt Niquidet.
  • 2025 BC Timber Building Technical Tour: The UBC Centre for Advanced Wood Processing (CAWP) announced that the British Columbia Timber Building Technical Tour has been rescheduled to October 20–24, 2025
  • Industrial Wood Finishing Certificate Program: CAWP has announced the program for the 2026 Industrial Wood Finishing Certificate Program.
  • BC Wood’s JC Lee will be attending Korea’s largest construction and architectural exhibition ‘KOREA BUILD WEEK 2026’

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The Tariff Challenge & Market Diversification Panel at the Global Buyers Mission 2025

The BC Wood Specialties Group
August 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada West

With recent U.S. decisions increasing countervailing duties on Canadian softwood lumber to over 35%, there’s an unprecedented level of uncertainty about how the market will be impacted. These escalating tariffs threaten to disrupt supply chains, inflate costs, and reshape the forestry industry. At BC Wood, we’re dedicated to helping you navigate these challenges. Which is why we will be hosting a Tariffs Panel at the Global Buyers Mission (September 4, 2025). Introduced by Minister Ravi Parmar, the panel will bring together top leaders to analyze the challenges, opportunities, and strategies amid escalating trade tensions. Moderated by Mo Amir, GM of SPF Precut Lumber, the panel will include: Nick Arkle, CEO, Gorman Brothers Lumber; Liz Kovach, President, Supply-Build Canada; and Kurt Niquidet, President, BC Lumber Trade Council.

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Investigating structural interactions in one-story segmented CLT shear walls: The role of floors, parapets, and lintels

By University of BC and FPInnovations
Science Direct
August 8, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada West

Many numerical and experimental investigations have explored the behavior of CLT shear walls under lateral loads; however, there remains a gap in understanding the effect of structural interactions between wall panels and other structural elements, such as floors, parapets, and lintels in case of segmented CLT shear walls subjected to lateral loads. This study investigates the influence of these interactions on the lateral response of single-story multi-panel segmented CLT shear walls. For this purpose, various detailed numerical models that include floors, lintels and parapets are employed. The nonlinear behavior of connections is calibrated against existing test data to validate the accuracy of the finite element models in reproducing the hysteretic behavior of previously tested segmented CLT shear walls. 

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George Brown College project helps drive Ontario’s mass timber construction strategy

By Robin MacLennan
Ontario Construction News
August 8, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: Canada, Canada East

TORONTO — George Brown College’s (GBC) Limberlost Place has helped trigger major changes to Ontario’s building codes and is playing a key role in the province’s strategy to grow its mass timber construction sector, college officials say. The 10-storey academic building—Canada’s first institutional structure made from mass timber and designed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions—has served as a catalyst for the Ontario government’s Advanced Wood Construction Action Plan, unveiled on June 26. The action plan outlines four goals: Promote awareness and use of advanced wood construction; Remove regulatory barriers in codes and standards; Stimulate innovation and investment in advanced manufacturing; and Showcase successful projects to build industry confidence. Limberlost Place embodies all four goals. …By demonstrating the viability and benefits of mass timber at scale, George Brown College has positioned itself—and Ontario—as a leader in sustainable construction and advanced wood manufacturing.

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Why Builders Are Swapping Lumber for Rice Husk Boards

By Sara Kitnick
The Los Angeles Times
September 2, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, International

The construction industry accounts for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, which has builders rethinking the materials they use. One unlikely source keeps coming up in those conversations: rice husks. What used to be burned or buried is now pressed into a wood alternative that looks the part and often outlasts traditional lumber. Husks are milled into composite boards that resist water, release very low VOCs, and can be recycled. The manufacturing is lighter on energy, turns a waste stream into something useful, and gives homeowners a material that behaves like wood without the constant upkeep. …Globally, rice husk composites are gaining ground in regions where rice is grown, and research is exploring structural uses such as engineered members. Certification programs, including LEED, are recognizing the category, and analysts expect it to claim a meaningful share of certain wood product markets over the next decade.

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Real estate developer presents results of mass timber fire testing

By Dakota Smith
The Woodworking Network
August 20, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

MADISON, Wisconsin — Neutral, a real estate development company, has presented the results of a 3-hour fire test for a hybrid mass timber building assembly with standard connectors. Neutral conducted a series of fire resistance tests to determine a 3-hour fire-resistance rating (FRR), proving equivalent performance of the mass timber structure with IBC construction type I-A. Test results exceeded expectations: the assemblies performed exceptionally under loaded fire conditions. …The test was conducted in the Spring of 2025 at SwRI lab in San Antonio, Texas. It was prepared in collaboration with Forefront Structural Engineers. …Neutral is publishing the test results (report 1, report 2) for open use by industry researchers and practitioners around the world. This is the first successful implementation of the three-hour fire test of a mass timber assembly that illustrates the safety and potential of mass timber application in high-rise construction.

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Softwood Lumber Board Monthly Update – August 2025

The Softwood Lumber Board
August 22, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States
  • SLB-Funded NYC Mass Timber Studio Expands With Landmark Projects: Building on the success of its first round of projects in 2024, the NYC Mass Timber Studio announced a second cohort of selected projects this month to help catalyze deployment of wood construction throughout New York City. … After supporting successful accelerator programs in Boston, Georgia, and New York City, the SLB is now exploring collaborations with cities in Arizona, California, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Texas. 
  • Industry Leaders Highlight How the SLB Unites Manufacturers of All Sizes: This month, current and former SLB Directors Trey Hankins, CFO of Hankins, Inc., and J.D. Hankins, Co-Owner, highlight how the SLB unites manufacturers of all sizes and from each region.
  • WoodWorks Supports Growth in Student Housing Projects: Whether teams are interested in the economy of light-frame wood, the biophilic potential of mass timber, or a combination, student housing offers significant opportunities for wood.
  • Click the Read More for these stories and more!

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Paper and Paper-Based Packaging Industry Votes to End Its Marketing Program

Paper and Packaging Board
August 6, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States

The paper and paper-based packaging industry’s national research and promotion program, administered by the Paper and Packaging Board (P+PB), will not continue following the results of the July continuance referendum vote. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published the results where 74% of manufacturers and importers voting, who represented 90% of the volume of paper and paper-based packaging voted in the referendum, were not in favor of continuing the program. For the referendum to pass, the number of voting companies and the voting tons they represent must be over 50% in favor of continuing the program.  …“While I am very disappointed by the results, I am proud of all the progress we have made as an industry speaking with one voice and the positive improvements in industry reputation and preference for its products,” said Mary Anne Hansan, president of P+PB. 

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Lab to develop future of timber construction getting closer to reality in Northwest Portland

By Tristin Hoffman
The Oregonian
August 29, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

A marine terminal that once shipped Oregon’s wood and steel will soon research and manufacture mass timber in an effort to ease Oregon’s housing costs and address the state’s housing shortage. The Port of Portland’s Terminal 2, a 39-acre concrete lot sitting largely empty in the city’s Northwest Industrial District, is being readied for at least $15 million worth of soil treatments next year to ensure the riverfront site is on stable ground before it transforms into a mass-timber research and manufacturing campus. While the campus’ first phase of construction should finish in 2028, the Port of Portland told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Oregon, at a site visit Monday, millions in funding gaps muddy the campus’ second phase. …The facility is set to house Switzerland mass-timber company Zaugg Timber Solutions, the University of Oregon’s acoustic research laboratory and small industry-related companies to expand mass-timber development, research and uses.

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City Explores Transition to Engineered Wood Construction

By Jorge Casuso
Santa Monica Lookout
August 7, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

In an effort to make a dent in Santa Monica’s carbon footprint, the City Council is expected to accept a grant from the mass timber industry to explore shifting its construction policies. The $100,000 grant from the Softwood Lumber Board would fund a program to help “evaluate the potential benefits and challenges of incorporating mass timber in new buildings,” according to the City staff report to the Council. …The initial funding would be awarded to up to five building design teams “to develop mass timber building designs in addition to a community partner to support outreach and implementation.” “Mass timber has the potential for greater reductions in embodied carbon emissions in construction projects than can be achieved from low-carbon concrete,” staff wrote. The transition from concrete construction to mass timber — which is an engineered wood product — would help the City’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions by an additional 26 percent by 2030

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Downtown Mass-Timber Tower Project Meets Resistance at Seattle Landmark Board

By Ryan Packer
The Urbanist
August 7, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

A Seattle proposal to add more housing above the historic Doyle Building near Pike Place Market is bringing out significant opposition, with nearby condominium owners seeking to utilize the only point of leverage they have: the city’s landmarks board. Clark/Barnes architects are working with the owners of the four-story building…. Their proposal would take advantage of a suite of newly approved state and city policies approved with the express purpose of making it easier to build housing. Architects propose retaining the facade and adding 12 additional floors of new construction. That new addition would consist of mass timber, allowing a smaller foundation and less weight on the historic building below.

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UMaine researchers are turning wood into medicine, and it could help cut drug costs

By Drew Peters
News Center Maine
September 12, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: US East

ORONO, Maine — At the University of Maine, researchers are using wood to help make medicine more affordable. Researchers at UMaine are developing a method to extract glucose sugars from wood products like chips and sawdust and convert them into a chemical compound called (S)-3-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone, or HBL, a building block found in a variety of pharmaceutical drugs.  HBL has also been identified as a highly valuable precursor to a variety of chemicals and plastics by the U.S. Department of Energy. “We found a way to take advantage of what nature gives us in the sugars in wood,” said Professor Tom Schwartz, who leads the project. HBL is commonly used in medications to treat high cholesterol, as well as things like antibiotics and HIV inhibitors, and producing it the traditional way is expensive. Schwartz says their new method could cut manufacturing costs significantly.

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Mississippi State University architecture professor to lead cross-college endowed program

By Meg Henderson
Mississippi State University
August 27, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

Jacob Gines

STARKVILLE, Mississippi —Mississippi State Associate Professor Jacob Gines is the inaugural Mississippi Lumber Manufacturers Association Endowed Professor in Innovative Wood Construction and Design. The Mississippi Lumber Manufacturers Association established the endowed position jointly in MSU’s College of Architecture, Art and Design and College of Forest Resources in 2024. Gines has taught architecture courses and advanced design studios at MSU since 2012. During his tenure, he has collaborated with MSU’s Department of Sustainable Bioproducts and the Mississippi Forestry Association on sustainable design using emerging and innovative forest products. Last year, he earned his Ph.D. in sustainable bioproducts, specializing in mass timber. …“Although we have a strong timber industry, we currently don’t have CLT manufacturing in our state. Increasing proximity and availability to mass timber materials would create exciting opportunities for our state’s architects, contractors and developers,” Gines said. “Another hurdle we must address is the unfamiliarity within the architecture and construction industries.

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How Arkansas’s timber university building could revolutionise architecture

By Oliver Wainwright
The Guardian
August 26, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas — Unlikely as it may seem, this rumbling stretch of road on the edge of this small city is now home to one of the most significant buildings for the future of architecture in North America. …The Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation looks like a group of great big barns caught in a highway pile-up. …“We imagined the building as a storybook of wood,” says Yvonne Farrell, of Dublin architects Grafton. …The angular wooden hangar provides a huge new workshop, studio space and auditorium for the University of Arkansas’s Fay Jones school of architecture, under the deanship of Peter MacKeith. …This is the fourth mass timber building that the university has completed since MacKeith arrived here in 2014. It follows an impressive library annex, student dormitory complex and research institute, but is by far the most ambitious project, pushing the limits of what the industry can do.

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Why Maine Is Falling Behind in Race to Build Timber Buildings

By Lori Valigra
The Bangor Daily News
August 24, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

When Millard Dority came out of retirement to oversee the expansion of Jesup Memorial Library, he had one goal: to prove that Maine could produce its own cross-laminated timber. Instead, he uncovered a glaring hole in the state’s forest economy. …But with no CLT factories in Maine, the wood had to be trucked from New England to Illinois for processing, then hauled back to Bar Harbor—a headache in a state blanketed by forests. …The Jesup Library expansion is one of just 27 CLT projects in Maine, using spruce-pine-fir and eastern hemlock from New England. Forestry expert Andy Fast said these underused species are finding new life through CLT, but warned, “Supply chain efficiencies will determine whether it’s a viable product longer term.” Despite interest, Maine has failed to land a CLT manufacturer. LignaTerra Global and SmartLam both announced plans in 2018, only to back out. [to access the full story a Bangor Daily News subscription is required].

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Stephen F. Austin State University unveils its first mass timber building

Stephen F. Austin State University
August 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: US East

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin State University officially unveiled the Pineywoods Dining Hall — the university’s first mass timber building and the first mass timber project in The University of Texas System — ushering in a new era of campus dining… “It is the first mass timber project in The University of Texas System. …it highlights what makes East Texas special and the unique opportunities we have as a region of our state to contribute to all of Texans and hopefully a new way of building buildings all across the country,” said Dr. Neal Weaver, SFA President. Weaver described the project as a symbol of Lumberjack perseverance. 

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How Much Wood Could a Museum Collect? Much More Than a Woodchuck Could!

By Erin Wunderlich
Smithsonian Magazine
August 7, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US East

The National Museum of Natural History is renowned for its iconic objects like the Hope Diamond and the Nation’s T. rex. With so many spectacular specimens, it could be easy to miss the museum’s wood collection. Which wood be a big mistake as these scientific samples form one of the world’s most important assemblages of lumber. “At the Museum Support Center, our collections storage facility in Maryland, we have about 43,000 wood specimens spanning over 3,000 genera — that makes us the second largest wood collection, or xylarium, in the United States and fifth largest in the world,” said research botanist Kenneth Wurdack, the curator of the museum’s wood collections. …The museum’s collections are a vital source for preservation of rare and extinct species, and woods are no exception. Unfortunately, threats like deforestation linked to agriculture and urbanization, as well as introduced diseases, have decimated the populations of several species of trees. 

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Tool for wood traceability management debuts

Vietnam+
September 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Vietnam – The Vn-WoodID application has been officially launched, becoming a key tool contributing to wood traceability. The application, launched within the framework of the “Ensuring Timber Legality for Sustainable Forestry Development in Vietnam” forum on September 12, integrates artificial intelligence (AI) and is capable of analysing images of wood cross-sections, providing identification results with an accuracy of up to 98.6% in less than one second. A prominent feature of Vn-WoodID is its ability to operate directly on a phone without an internet connection. This allows customs officials, forest rangers, or businesses to use it immediately on-site to look up information about wood species, rather than taking days to send samples for identification as was previously required. The application was built using nearly 3,000 wood samples collected from various high-risk areas for origin, such as Africa, South America, and Asia. …expanding the database is crucial to enhancing the application’s effectiveness. 

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How the UK government’s green paper will transform timber specification

Building Design Online UK
September 14, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International
Andrew Orriss

Andrew Orriss

Andrew Oriss, CEO of the Structural Timber Association, explains how the UK government’s 2025 Construction Products Reform Green Paper will reshape timber specification – from risk-based regulation and strengthened certification to digital product data and sustainability reporting – and what architects and specifiers need to know to stay compliant and competitive. The UK government’s 2025 Construction Products Reform Green Paper represents a pivotal moment for architects and specifiers working with timber and timber frame systems. …The proposed shift towards risk-based regulation offers architects greater clarity when specifying timber systems. Rather than applying blanket restrictions, the new framework will recognise that different timber applications carry different risk profiles. When specifying timber frame for low-rise residential projects, architects will have clearer guidance on what is appropriate compared to specifying mass timber systems for larger commercial buildings. This nuanced approach will enable evidence-based design decisions, moving beyond outdated perceptions to focus on actual performance data.

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New timber stadium in Fukushima designed as a symbol of recovery

By Ada Wein
Travel Tomorrow
September 9, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

@Fukushima United FC

While Fukushima is sadly more widely associated with nuclear tragedy … this may soon change as Japan prepares to unveil a new landmark: a circular timber stadium. Designed by Japanese architecture studio Vuild, the venue, which has 5,000 seats, will be the new home of Fukushima United FC. The 16-metre-tall, two-tiered structure was designed … to be a ‘symbol of hope and recovery’ for a region that has been profoundly affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, which resulted in a nuclear disaster. The architects have framed the project as a gesture of resilience … drawing on circular principles of reuse and regeneration … with each component designed for disassembly and reuse. …The extensive use of laminated timber rather than concrete or steel is possible because each of the stadium’s four sections covers less than 3,000 square metres. According to Japanese regulations, this exempts the structure from being classified as a fireproof building, thus enabling the pioneering all-wood design.

Additional coverage (in Japanese!): 日本初の完全木造&世界初の循環型木造スタジアム構想-

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From forestry schools to wood physics as a scientific discipline: a review of historical milestones and future directions of wood science

By Dick Sandberg and Peter Niemz
Researchgate.net
August 30, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

This overview traces the modern history of wood science and technology, particularly from the European perspective. It begins with the early forestry schools in 18th-century Germany, which influenced the founding of similar institutions worldwide. These schools introduced technical subjects, including wood physics, to meet industrial demand, especially from the mining sector. Before formal studies began, early research on wood properties, including moisture relations and strength, appeared in encyclopaedias. With the Industrial Revolution, interest in wood as a construction material grew, linking wood research to engineering and materials science. In the early 20th century, dedicated wood technology institutes marked the birth of wood science as a distinct discipline. …The future of wood science lies in sustainability and the efficient use of resources. As interest in renewable, bio-based alternatives to steel and concrete grows, further research on wood functionalisation and modification will be vital. 

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Danish timber industry faces heavy burden from packaging rules

Interior Daily
August 28, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

The Danish timber industry is warning of significant financial strain following the introduction of new packaging regulations, which came into effect on 1 January as part of the EU’s packaging directive. According to the Danish Wood Packaging Association (DTE), the rules on extended producer responsibility place the cost burden on manufacturers, even when customers dictate the design and specifications. DTE argues this “uneven” implementation could cost the sector over DKK 60 million annually, with pallet prices expected to rise by around 20%. …The association also criticised the fee structure, claiming it relies on outdated data and fails to differentiate between clean, recyclable wood and mixed wood waste, unnecessarily inflating costs and threatening Danish jobs. DTE is calling for reforms to align payment with design responsibility, adjust fees based on environmental impact, and ensure imported packaging is subject to the same standards.

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Most consumers ‘do not understand what causes deforestation’

Forestry Journal UK
August 26, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

THE majority of consumers cannot identify the primary cause of deforestation – with an increasing number linking it to timber production. That’s going by the results of a major survey from the paper and pulp industry, which also found that more than 60 per cent of people believe only recycled paper should be used to produce new paper products. In contrast, 60 per cent of European consumers believe urban development poses the greatest threat, an increase from 55 per cent in both 2021 and 2023. 58 per cent believe palm oil plantations (up from 52 per cent in 2023), 54 per cent think construction and timber (up from 52 per cent in 2023), 52 per cent believe energy and wood fuel (slightly down from 54 per cent), and 46 per cent deem the paper and pulp industry is the most significant contributor – up from 42 per cent in 2023. …In reality, deforestation is primarily driven by agricultural expansion, especially in tropical and sub-tropical regions.

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Timber roof trusses emit 88% less CO2 than steel and 87% less than concrete

Lesprom Network
August 25, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

Timber roof trusses have the lowest climate impact across all measured span lengths when compared to concrete, steel, and glulam options. A study conducted by Zeina Alasadi and Selma Bergström Denizoglu at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, shows that nail plate connected timber trusses consistently outperform other materials in reducing CO₂ emissions, even when more timber units are required to match the span coverage of a single truss made from concrete or steel. The analysis covered trusses with spans from 6 to 26 meters and focused exclusively on emissions from the production phase, using life cycle assessment (LCA) data corresponding to stages A1–A3. The timber trusses were evaluated using verified environmental product declarations (EPDs) from Derome, which supplied design specifications and material volumes. Timber trusses with spans of 6, 8, 12, and 20 meters generated CO₂ emissions of 59.72 kg, 78.5 kg, 145.15 kg, and 352.5 kg respectively when scaled to match standard center distances.

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EU Deforestation Regulation ‘unlikely’ to impact wood pallet and packaging users

Timber Media UK
August 11, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: International

The European Federation of Wooden Pallet and Packaging Manufacturers (FEFPEB) has advised that the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will not have significant implications for customers using wood pallets and packaging for transport. The organization issued a statement to customers which requires businesses to prove products on the EU market have not been sourced from recently deforested land or contributed to its degradation. In a newsletter, the organisation said packaging would only become subject to the new EUDR rules when placed on the market for the first time as a standalone product, with its status changing as immediately when it is used. “As soon as the pallet or packaging is used to support, protect or carry another product, it is no longer covered by the EUDR.  …“Once the concerned packaging becomes a packaging material used exclusively as packaging… it is then not covered by the scope 27 of the Regulation.”

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