TimberCon, presented by The Architect’s Newspaper in partnership with the Mass Timber Institute, returns virtually on September 28. This year’s edition features leading projects and practitioners from across the U.S. and Canada sharing advances in timber design, engineering, and construction. Mass timber is of growing interest across North America as firms and clients seek to reduce embodied carbon in their buildings. The day leads off with a welcome from Juan Du, Dean of the University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Planning, and AN’s Editor in Chief, Aaron Seward. Peter MacKeith, Dean of the Fay Jones School of Architecture at the University of Arkansas, will deliver the opening keynote. …Tom Chung, principal at Leers Weinzapfel and a leader in mass timber design, will share the story and lessons learned from the firm’s work on Adohi Hall.
When it comes to choosing Industrial Matting, material does matter. After all, there’s a lot riding on your choice – both figuratively and literally. …Since Access Matting is often used to protect environmentally sensitive areas, it only makes sense that the preferred material would be natural. That’s why wood is such an important material. From forest to finished product, wood is the most environmentally friendly material there is. …Performance-wise Douglas Fir and Pacific HemFir boast virtually the same characteristics. They’re, strong, durable and rot-resistant. In terms of availability and sizing options, however, Pacific HemFir is wood that works! “HemFir is readily available in longer lengths, which means you need less mats for a uniformly distributed point load,” says Doug Carl, who is president of crane mat manufacturer Industrial Timber Products. “It makes a great mat. It drills well and it’s not heavy, which can significantly cut down on freight costs.”
…If you live in the U.S., wood was likely used to build your home. All these wood-based items … help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by storing carbon. The wood used in people’s houses may be particularly important when it comes to storing carbon. According to a new Southern Research Station study, the wood used to build and maintain houses will continue to store large amounts of carbon for the next 50 years. …Even after the wood used in buildings reaches the end of its useful life and ends up in a landfill, it does not immediately release its carbon. It continues to store that carbon for many years. In this way, wood retains its storage capacity for several more decades. …Houses store so much carbon that figuring out how many will be built in the future is important for understanding the total U.S. carbon storage capacity.
The global market for mass timber reached a milestone last year, exceeding $1 billion for the first time. That market is expected to more than double, to $2.5 billion, by 2027, according to estimates from Research & Markets. But as mass timber continues to nudge its way from the fringe into the mainstream, is the industry prepared for that demand? Joining us to discuss mass timber’s future are two execs from the builder Timberlab, a Swinerton company that launched in Portland, Ore., in 2021: Erica Spiritos, Director of Preconstruction, and Sam Dicke, a Los Angeles-based Business Development Manager: Let’s talk first about demand. …What are the challenges to growth? Is the industry’s supply infrastructure able to handle the kind of demand projected? …Market watchers are predicting 15% compound annual growth for mass timber in the coming years. How does Timberlab see market demand, and where is it headed.
The Alaska Department of Natural Resources is preparing a new program that would allow Alaska sawmills to sell lumber for local construction without having that wood graded for quality by an Outside inspector. The program was announced by Alaska State Forester Helge Eng on Sept. 13 at Southeast Conference, a gathering of Southeast Alaska political and business leaders. Eng said the program, which may take two years to implement, would encourage the growth of Alaska’s lumber industry by making it easier to use locally produced lumber. Many residential building codes require lumber be graded for strength and quality by a national organization before being used in construction. …The Department of Natural Resources is requesting public input on the proposal. It expects that it will take at least one year, and likely longer, to develop regulations for the program.
It costs Alaskans $20 million a year to import lumber, mostly from Canada, that has the quality inspection stamps required by lending institutions who finance most home and building construction. Alaska has a lot small local sawmills that need customers. Ironically, the lack of a state lumber inspection and certification program forces Alaska builders to import lumber from places out-of-state where the certifications can be done, and that adds to costs. The Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection wants to change that. The agency is developing a new program to increase the use of Alaskan wood by allowing local sawmill operators to self-certify their lumber, the division said Sept 16. Local Use Lumber is a concept that promotes locally produced dimensional lumber to be used in some residential construction, usually single and double family houses. 
As new timber technologies emerge for the construction industry, Dirigo Center Developers in Westbrook is preparing to build a cross-laminated timber tower and retail demonstration that will expand markets for Maine’s new forest products. The company was recently awarded $250,000 for the project, from the U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Grant program. Dirigo Center Developers was one of four Maine businesses to be awarded nearly $2.5 million from U.S. Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Grant program and Community Wood Grant program. The goal of the federal funding is to strengthen Maine’s forest products sector and expand markets for the industry. …The money will provide support to the four companies, which are finding new customers for their wood products, which include cross-laminated timber, new pine resources and wood biomass fuels. 
Timber is growing in popularity as a sustainable construction material, [as is] the need for fire retardants that don’t pose a threat to human health. …the fire retardants we use to protect building materials often contain dangerous toxic chemicals. Pollution from fire retardants is a major safety risk that cannot be ignored. Construction professionals must be made aware of the dangers to help protect lives and limit the environmental impacts of these harmful chemicals. This means ensuring only the safest, most sustainable options are specified for projects. …as the construction industry continues to grow, further research and technological innovations are helping to increase the availability of non-toxic, safer fire retardants. More environmentally friendly products will help to ensure the chemicals we are putting into building materials are safe, helping assure a greener, cleaner future for construction. Currently, however, there is still a long way to go.
