Building to Net-Zero Carbon
Designed to expand the use of mass timber in the United States, the Mass Timber Competition: Building to Net-Zero Carbon showcases mass timber’s application, practicality, commercial viability, and role as a natural climate solution that reduces the carbon footprint of the built environment. The Competition is intended to help expand the use of mass timber building solutions and support increased employment in advanced wood products design, engineering, construction, supply chain, and manufacturing sectors.
The SLB and USDA fund the competition. The funding supports costs associated with the use of mass timber or mass timber hybrid building systems and construction. Funding also helps project teams overcome barriers to the use of a new building material and system, most notably the costs of analyzing design and engineering alternatives and verifying that these solutions comply with applicable code(s).
2023 Competition – Entry Period Now Closed
The entry period for the 2023 Mass Timber Competition closed on May 5, 2023. Public announcement of the winners will be made during the week of October 16, 2023.
2022 Competition Recap and Project Updates
In June 2022, the SLB and USDA Forest Service announced the winners of the first competition. Six projects were chosen for their ability to demonstrate mass timber’s innovative, scalable applications in architectural design and to highlight its significant role in reducing the built environment’s carbon footprint. The winning projects, which shared $2 million in total funding, are listed below. A blog post profiling the winners can be found on Think Wood.
Vancouver Ambulatory Care Center
176,000-square-foot medical facility.
Vancouver, Washington
Project team: ZGF Architects, Timberlab, Swinerton, and PCS Structural Solutions
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12-story multifamily and retail project in Denver, Colorado, which will include affordable housing units.
Denver, Colorado
Project team: Katz Development, Timberlab, KL&A Engineers and Builders, and Tres Birds
Update: Project is in Schematic Design & Design Development phase
Evergreen Charter School
An 85,000-square-foot gymnasium.
Hempstead, New York
Project team: Martin Hopp Architect, Consigli, and Odeh Engineers
Update: Project has broken ground.
Alaskan Copper & Brass
A 42,456-square-foot industrial warehouse.
Kent, Washington
Project team: atelierjones, Foushee, Timberlab, and DCI Engineers.
INTRO Cleveland — Phase 2
A multifamily high-rise building in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.
Cleveland, Ohio
Project team: Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors, Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, and Forefront Structural Engineers.
Update: Project is in Schematic Design & Design Development phase
Killingsworth
An 18,780-square-foot community-centric office building.
Portland, Oregon
Project team: Adre, LEVER Architecture, and Holmes US.
Update: Project is in Construction Documents and Approval phase
Each project pledges to use wood sourced from sustainably managed forests, and many prioritize mass timber that is both domestically harvested and manufactured. Lessons from these projects will be shared with the broader design and construction communities to support project development and replication, including research about cost analyses and life-cycle assessments.