Mass Timber Competition

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 $2 million 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).

2022 Competition Recap

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.

• The 176,000-square-foot Vancouver Ambulatory Care Center medical facility in Vancouver, Washington, proposed by ZGF Architects, Timberlab, Swinerton, and PCS Structural Solutions.
• Return to Form, a 12-story multifamily and retail project in Denver, Colorado, which will include affordable housing units, proposed by Katz Development, Timberlab, KL&A Engineers and Builders, and Tres Birds.
• Evergreen Charter School’s 85,000-square-foot gymnasium in Hempstead, New York, proposed by Martin Hopp Architect, Consigli, and Odeh Engineers.
• A 42,456-square-foot industrial warehouse for Alaskan Copper & Brass in Kent, Washington, proposed by atelierjones, Foushee, Timberlab, and DCI Engineers.
• INTRO Phase 2, a multifamily high-rise building in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, proposed by Harbor Bay Real Estate Advisors, Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, and Forefront Structural Engineers.
• Killingsworth, an 18,780-square-foot community-centric office building in Portland, Oregon, proposed by Adre, LEVER Architecture, and Holmes US.

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 with regard to cost analyses and life-cycle assessments.

2023 Competition – Entry Period Now Closed

The entry period for the 2023 Mass Timber Competition closed on May 5, 2023. Further announcements will be made according to the schedule below.

Deadlines – Today’s Date is

Competition Webinar Q&A

WoodWorks, the organization managing the competition, will conducted a Q&A webinar on March 21, 2023 to answer questions from project teams that have entered or are considering entry. To access the recorded webinar, click here. To access the slide deck from the webinar, click here.