Housing solutions: The mass timber promise

By Kelley Christensen
University of Oregon, Office of the VP for Research and Innovation
January 9, 2025
Category: Wood, Paper & Green Building
Region: United States, US West

It’s a familiar story: For years, housing costs have soared while demand rapidly outpaced new construction. Adding to the crisis are a stuttering supply chain, outdated building codes, and too few forestry professionals. In such a landscape, the American Dream of owning a home begins to seem but a fantasy. But this isn’t where the story ends; rather, it’s the beginning of a new one. A collaborative effort between universities, private industry, and state agencies combines new research, innovative manufacturing and construction, forest stewardship, and sustainable design into a force that’s greater than the sum of its parts… After a hollowing out over the past 50 years, the forestry industry has continued to face two critical challenges: the high cost of forest restoration and a shrinking, aging forestry workforce.

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