Mass Timber Competition Announced, Wood-Friendly Proposals Go to Final ICC Vote + Interior Wood Trends ?️ | SLB October 2021 Newsletter

Forbes recently surveyed its 11-member Real Estate Council of experts on key predictions influencing housing prices, consumer behavior, and the overall U.S. real estate market.

Overall, Forbes’s experts expect the tight housing market to continue, driven by extremely low inventory, rising prices, and high demand, including as more millennials attempt to enter the market. The United States’ shortage of affordable housing will continue, forcing more consumers to turn to multifamily and other rentals, which may in turn drive up rental prices. The experts are watching inflation’s impact on mortgage rates, which may cool the market, though not necessarily to the benefit of first-time home buyers as opposed to investors.

Commercial real estate will likely continue to face challenges, as the shift to a more hybrid workforce persists, irrespective of the pandemic.

Read all 11 of the council’s predictions here.

Bowdoin College’s Barry Mills Hall will soon be Maine’s first complete mass timber structure, from grade level to roof. The building features a mix of glued-laminated timber beams and columns and a CLT wall system to resist wind and seismic loads, also a first in Maine.

Bowdoin, which achieved carbon neutrality in 2018, chose mass timber specifically for its lower embodied carbon footprint and faster construction time. Designers at HGA Architects and Engineers estimate that by using mass timber, they will reduce the embodied carbon of the building to roughly 25% of a steel alternative, while construction firm Consigli Construction predicts faster install times and lower labor demands than would be incurred if building with masonry.

Barry Mills Hall is scheduled to open in 2023 and will ultimately house the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies. The U.S. Forest Service, in partnership with the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities, provided funding to support Bowdoin in pursuing climate-smart, sustainable building solutions on its campus.

Read more about Barry Mills Hall and see images here.

The House Armed Services Committee’s recent markup of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act bill included language to establish a pilot program to evaluate the effects of using mass timber products in Department of Defense construction projects. The AWC has been working with the DOD for more than five years to raise awareness of mass timber and build the evidence base demonstrating mass timber’s performance capabilities in relation to DOD construction standards.

In response to the markup, AWC President and CEO Jackson Morrill stressed how the mass timber pilot program will help the DOD address the military’s housing needs while also contributing to carbon-reduction goals. Morrill noted, “Mass timber construction will speed up construction times, ultimately saving money and getting service members into housing more quickly. The DOD saw a 37% reduction in schedule duration and a 31% increase in expected energy performance in its first mass timber construction project.”

Read more about the proposed pilot program here.

Completed earlier this year by architects Perkins&Will and developer SKS Partners, with project support from WoodWorks, the 58-foot-tall, 134,000-square-foot 1 De Haro is San Francisco’s first multistory mass timber building.

The 1 De Haro project includes three stories of exposed glulam columns and beams, CLT floor slabs, and a concrete podium. The development team chose mass timber for its light weight, which translated into a less expensive foundation system; time savings created by mass timber’s off-site fabrication and installation methods; and sustainability benefits, including an estimated 51% reduction in embodied carbon compared with a comparable concrete structure.

The California design community is optimistic that 1 De Haro will be just the first of many mass timber structures in the state, enabled by California’s recent adoption of the tall wood provisions of the 2021 IBC, which allow for mass timber buildings of up to 18 stories. California is one of nine jurisdictions to adopt the standards thus far.

Forbes recently covered a growing movement among private companies to pursue certification as climate neutral in order to assert their commitment to addressing the climate emergency to investors and consumers.

Climate Neutral, an independent nonprofit organization, works to decrease carbon emissions by supporting brands to measure, offset, and reduce their carbon emissions using a series of standardized environmental benchmarks and product labeling. Over 320 companies have achieved the certification to date, which they must renew annually. Last year, Climate Neutral reported that its certified brands reduced and offset the equivalent of 800,000 tons of carbon dioxide.

Climate Neutral’s methodology takes particular aim at decarbonizing supply chains and product design to make the most impactful emission reductions. Forests and wood products offer significant opportunities for decarbonization, either directly or via reforestation and afforestation activities supported by voluntary carbon markets.

Read more about Climate Neutral’s certification here.

International real estate firm Lendlease recently unveiled a partnership with Stora Enso, a leading supplier of sustainable wood building products, in an effort to reduce the carbon footprint of its buildings. The two companies had previously partnered on eight buildings over the past decade, including the 25 King office building in Brisbane, Australia, which has resulted in a 74% reduction of emissions. As part of the new partnership, Stora Enso will increase its timber products production capacity in Milan to supply Lendlease’s European development portfolio, collectively valued at $52 billion.

Lendlease’s CEO, Tony Lombardo, noted the particular relevance of this partnership toward Lendlease’s goal of becoming net zero by 2025 and absolute zero by 2040.

Read more here.