SLB Removes Barriers to Wood Design Education | SLB January 2026 Newsletter

Lasting, large-scale change in architectural education requires engaging not only those who teach, but also those who determine what gets taught—and where institutional resources are invested.

In November, the SLB expanded its education strategy by sponsoring a workshop held in conjunction with the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture Administrators Conference at the University of Arkansas. The conference convenes the academic leaders who shape program direction across U.S. architecture schools: deans, department chairs, and directors responsible for curriculum frameworks, faculty priorities, and accreditation alignment. By engaging this audience directly, the SLB placed mass timber into conversations about core competencies, learning outcomes, and long-horizon program planning.

Rather than focusing on individual courses, the emphasis was on program-level coherence—how wood systems can be reinforced repeatedly across a student’s education. This distinction matters because faculty enthusiasm alone cannot overcome structural barriers. Curriculum requirements, accreditation pressures, and resource allocation ultimately determine what reaches students at scale. By equipping academic leaders with shared models, resources, and implementation frameworks, the SLB is helping remove those systemic barriers.

“The ‘Policy to Practice’ workshop brought together for the first time 25 academic program administrators in architecture from across the country, along with leading practitioners in mass timber architecture, to conceptualize a lower-carbon, mass timber-centered architecture education curriculum of applicable value to all programs,” says Peter MacKeith, dean of the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design. “The workshop was stimulating, engaging, and ultimately rewarding in the issues identified, options considered, and frameworks brought forward.”

By pairing faculty development with administrator engagement, the SLB is advancing an approach for wood construction adoption in architectural education that aligns institutional structures with the future needs of the building industry and the next generation of designers.

Warehouses, distribution centers, and data centers represent a significant opportunity for incremental lumber demand: just 5% market share for lumber would result in 180 MM BF of incremental demand. A new Think Wood case study highlights lumber’s potential in a related building segment: manufacturing.

United Therapeutics is a multibillion-dollar biotechnology company with 1,400 employees focusing on developing therapies for rare and life-threatening diseases. For its new 196,000-square-foot Warp-10 pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in North Carolina, the company was committed to building with mass timber to reduce the facility’s carbon footprint—even in a risk-averse industry that requires strictly regulated Current Good Manufacturing Practices.

United Therapeutics partnered with architecture firm EwingCole to design a hybrid mass timber structural system that optimizes mass timber’s construction speed and biophilic benefits for occupants. The design sets precisely controlled clean-room environments against open, timber-framed offices and circulation spaces. Think Wood’s article shows how the pharma building’s innovative design provides a warm workspace drenched in daylight and wood.

Research from WoodWorks and the SLB has identified general contractors’ lack of knowledge about wood construction systems as a primary barrier to greater mass timber adoption. One of the efforts where the WoodWorks Construction Management team is working to overcome this barrier is through the Iron Workers IMPACT Conference, reinforcing WoodWorks’ commitment to collaboration with the structural steel and broader construction community. Held in Las Vegas, the conference is expected to attract approximately 1,500 attendees, including several hundred general contractors, making it a significant platform for industry engagement. 

Brandon Brooks, WoodWorks Construction Management Program Manager, is coordinating a main-stage panel focused on mass timber and structural steel, highlighting practical integration, collaboration, and real-world construction considerations. In addition, he is organizing a dedicated breakout session centered on hybrid mass timber and steel construction, bringing together WoodWorks, the American Institute of Steel Construction, IMPACT, and an experienced steel erector who has successfully completed mass timber projects (a breakout session at last year’s conference is pictured above). This session is designed to provide attendees with firsthand insights into constructability, sequencing, coordination, and lessons learned from the field. 

The IMPACT Conference also enables WoodWorks and the mass timber industry to connect with new audiences, expanding construction industry awareness and interest in mass timber solutions. The conversations initiated at the conference frequently serve as a catalyst for follow-up interactions with contractors, erectors, and project teams, leading to deeper discussions around mass timber projects through targeted education, supply chain introductions, and technical assistance during bidding, procurement, and project execution. Collectively, this sustained presence underscores WoodWorks’ role in driving industry understanding, adoption, and successful delivery of mass timber and steel hybrid building construction.

The SLB sponsored an AWC webinar with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS), “Understanding the Challenges of Preventing Construction Fires.” The webinar, hosted by NIBS and funded by the SLB, discussed real-world case studies, how codes and regulations play an important role in safety, and innovations that help keep people and property safe from fire.

With more than 200 individuals, including fire service, engineering, and building code professionals, in attendance, the webinar provided a valuable platform for the AWC and the SLB to strengthen attendees’ understanding of the role of codes and standards in fire safety and highlight the lumber industry’s commitment to safe construction. The AWC’s Director of Fire Service Relations, Ray O’Brocki, presented an overview of construction fire safety provisions, addressed common misconceptions, and shared best practices relevant to both the fire service and construction professionals.

The AWC’s participation demonstrates its ongoing commitment to advancing fire safety education and ensuring resources are accessible to the fire service. This webinar builds on a suite of recently released AWC tools, including the Construction Fire Safety Checklist App, which allows users to complete a site’s daily code-compliant, fire safety checklist; a relaunched, user-friendly Construction Fire Safety Coalition website; and two Mass Timber Alternative Materials and Methods Guides, one specific to Florida and one nationwide.