Category Archives: Wood, Paper & Green Building

Clemson University broke ground Friday on a new home for its Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation (FEC) and a new era of stewardship for South Carolina’s natural resources. Upon completion in early 2026, the 85,000-square-foot building will replace Lehotsky Hall as the department’s nerve center on campus. South Carolina’s forests are among its most valuable assets — not just in financial terms — as both a distinctive feature of its landscape and a renewable resource with recreational, wildlife and environmental benefits. But there is no denying their economic impact: Forestry generates $23.2 billion annually in the state and accounts for more than 100,000 jobs, according to the S.C. Forestry Commission. …The building will showcase mass-timber construction and advanced applications of wood products and technologies that are an essential part of modern conservation and forestry sciences and feature a native flora landscape that connects workspaces to the natural environment.

Harnessing the ability of wood products to store carbon even after harvest could have a significant effect on GHG emissions and change commonly accepted forestry practices, a new study from NC State researchers suggests. The new study uses carbon storage modeling to link the carbon stored in wood products with the specific forest system from which the products originated. …“Corrugated cardboard boxes are one of the most important products made from loblolly pine,” said Sarah Puls. “If we can extend the effective lifetime of products like these boxes, it could have a significant impact on carbon storage associated with southern pine plantations.” …The study also found that smaller sawtimber logs and engineered materials like OSB might also be good at storing carbon since they can be grown quickly but still go into long-lasting products like houses. …The study also found that short rotations could potentially outperform slower long rotations in carbon storage when a forest is highly productive.

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin — The Neutral Project is pursuing zoning approval for its proposed 32-story riverfront apartment tower, The Edison, while it actively seeks investors to develop the 381-unit, $145 million building. The tower, 1005 N. Edison St., would be the tallest mass timber building in the country when completed, eclipsing Milwaukee’s own 25-story Ascent tower. Ascent set the world record in 2022, but an even taller building is already under construction in Sydney, Australia and is expected to claim the world record at more than twice Ascent’s height. …Things are now progressing in hopes of a groundbreaking later this year. And at the same time, The Neutral Project is pursuing an even bigger building across the street. …The company, according to a profile in Madison’s Isthmus publication, is pursuing “a 50-story-plus mass timber building” for the site. The Department of City Development has yet to announce a winning bidder.

NEW YORK, NY—New York City Economic Development Corporation announced the advancement of two key commitments that seek to revolutionize a green path forward for cleaner construction and low carbon buildings with the launch of the Clean and Circular: Design and Construction Guidelines and the selection of the first design and development teams of the NYC Mass Timber Studio. Key to New York City’s decarbonization efforts, the Guidelines, offer an operational guide to reduce waste and embodied carbon in New York City’s built environment. Additionally, NYCEDC awarded seven design and development teams to participate in the NYC Mass Timber Studio, a first-of-its-kind program in New York City. The technical assistance program is designed to support active mass timber development projects in the early phases of project planning and design. …”We’re excited to see how the Guidelines will help to reduce New York City’s embodied carbon footprint,” said Elijah Hutchinson.

Related in Commercial Observer: NYC Selects 7 Projects to Lead the Way on Mass Timber

The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) is pleased to announce preliminary details of the Timber for Transit Program, designed to advance the use of domestic forest products in transportation infrastructure projects across Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont to showcase the capabilities of wood in these applications. Projects will demonstrate high-value forest products (e.g. glued laminated timber, cross laminated timber, composite materials, etc.) in transportation infrastructure… “The Commission seeks to build on this legacy (of historic structures like covered bridges) by harnessing the innovation of the forest products industry to support the construction of modern infrastructure that incorporates wood materials. This sector represents both a market opportunity for the industry as well as a means to utilize more climate friendly materials in building community centered projects that serve travelers and passengers,” said NBRC Federal Co-Chair Chris Saunders.

New York City wants to bring eco-friendly construction to the masses and started that journey by picking seven projects to participate in a new mass timber incubator. The first projects in the New York City Economic Development Corporation’s (EDC) “Mass Timber Studio” run the gamut from the New Lots branch of the Brooklyn Public Library to an affordable housing development in Jamaica, Queens, spearheaded by MURAL Real Estate Partners and Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, Commercial Observer has learned. Projects in the nine-month incubator will get technical support from several city agencies as well as other experts on mass timber construction, including the Wood Products Council and the American Institute of Architects New York. Plus, they’ll each get a $25,000 grant for their efforts. …The EDC launched the mass timber incubator in September in an effort to move buildings away from traditional construction materials like concrete and steel to the low-carbon alternative of pressurized wood. 

In the realm of sustainable construction, the term “embodied carbon” has been gaining traction as a critical factor in assessing the environmental impact of buildings. …According to the New Building Institute, the building and construction industry is responsible for 39 percent of GHG emissions. And “of these emissions, one-third comes directly from the creation of construction products and construction activities.” …In 2023, California became the first state to approve what they call a “whole-building” embodied carbon policy in its state building code. Nationally, the federal government launched the Buy Clean Initiative to “spur the development of low-carbon construction materials made in America.” …Carbon-storing materials like wood, hemp, straw bamboo, and algae, and low-impact concrete alternatives, like green concrete developed by McHugh Concrete, can make an incredible impact on reduction of GHGs. Environmental Product Declarations, or EPDs, are a crucial piece of the puzzle.

NEW YORK — In the 1880s, New York had hit a brick wall, literally and figuratively. The problem was that buildings had gone about as high as they could go, based on the centuries-old technology of piling bricks on top of each other so that the structure was supported only by its exterior walls. The dilemma was solved by the development of reinforced concrete. This innovation … made possible the skylines that define our urban world. But what if a new material could replace structural steel, making skyscrapers lighter, cheaper, faster to build, and more eco-friendly? And what if that new material were actually much older than steel? This is the subject of a new exhibit at the Skyscraper Museum, “Tall Timber: The Future of Cities in Wood,” which spotlights the latest wave of reinvention among architects and engineers, focused on “mass timber.” …The Skyscraper Museum’s show highlights new structural systems of engineered wood…

MUSKEGON, Michigan — There’s mass timber swinging at the development on Muskegon Lake, marking a major step forward in sustainable construction. Adelaide Pointe, a $250 million mixed-use development and marina planned for the waterfront, committed to using mass timber on three of its major projects — a first in Michigan construction. …Michigan State University researchers believe the state’s manufacturing expertise and natural resources could make it a leader in a new, sustainable construction industry. But first they need an archetype. Enter Adelaide Pointe and developers Ryan and Emily Leetsma. “When I started my job, I thought okay, Ann Arbor will build some mass timber buildings. Maybe some in Detroit. When the first call I got was from Muskegon, I was like, ‘this is pretty cool,’” said Sandra Lupien, Director of MassTimber@MSU. …Adelaide Pointe’s mission from the onset is to increase commerce on Muskegon’s waterfront while reducing environmental impacts as much as possible.