A few years ago, architects who staked an early claim on mass timber construction had to convince clients to take a chance on an exciting new approach. They would talk about faster build times and quicker leasing, sidestep the lack of comparable projects, downplay the technical challenges, and close with a statement about the environmental imperative of sequestering carbon in buildings. That was then. Today, owners and developers seek out architects who did the first generation of timber buildings. The architects and engineers interviewed for my new book, Innovations in Mass Timber, to be published in May 2024, report a growing project backlog. Woodworks, a trade association that tracks the industry, documents 18% to 20% annual growth in projects planned or completed (roughly 2,000) in the United States. Mass timber caught on faster in Europe, which accounts for half of the worldwide volume, according to a report from Allied Market Research.