The SLB Programs Protect Lumber’s Market Access | SLB February 2026 Newsletter

The AWC is currently updating two of its building design standards: the Special Design Provisions for Wind & Seismic (SDPWS) and the Permanent Wood Foundation Design Specification (PWF). These updates help support access to safe construction resources, and the key changes support additional national and international standards that affect lumber’s competitive position. 

Led by AWC staff and the AWC’s Wood Design Standards Committee (WDSC), the multi-year development process for the 2027 editions of both standards remains on schedule for inclusion in the International Code Council’s 2027 I-Codes, which form the foundation of building regulations across the U.S. The AWC’s design standards are used by architects and engineers nationwide, and performance-driven updates to the standards—along with their inclusion in the I-Codes—are important protectors of lumber’s market access. 

The ongoing updates to the SDPWS are an example of how updates can advance both safety and market access. Several key changes and additions to the standard are informing similar proposals for the National Earthquake and Hazard Reduction Program (NEHRP) Provisions and ASCE 7. Both NEHRP and ASCE 7 are leading resources for seismic and wind requirements for wood construction, and the AWC’s technical expertise supports performance-based approaches to their updates. The research and revisions to SDPWS directly address mass timber and wood-frame construction on concrete podiums, strengthening the industry’s competitiveness in projects located in regions with elevated resilience considerations.

The SDPWS and PWF join the AWC’s three other design standards—the National Design Specification, Wood Frame Construction Manual for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, and Fire Design Specification—as leading resources for wood construction. The AWC’s commitment to strong, performance-based standards ensures architects and engineers have access to current, reliable guidance while helping to mitigate potential risks and safely expand wood use across building types.

Think Wood’s storytelling is accelerating engagement—and conversion—among commercial and multifamily design and construction professionals. By the end of 2025, the share of highly engaged professionals in Think Wood’s audience increased to 51%, up from 45% in 2024, indicating that new users are reaching deeper engagement levels faster than in prior years. This acceleration matters because 72% of highly engaged users report being more likely to use wood systems after engaging with Think Wood content.

Think Wood’s Q4 content continued to highlight sectors with high potential for incremental lumber demand, emphasizing building types where wood systems can be replicated at scale. For example, education buildings represent a segment with an annual incremental lumber opportunity of 203 MM BF. Think Wood’s case study of the Anthony Timberlands Center at the University of Arkansas highlighted the work of Grafton Architects—recipients of the Pritzker Prize (often described as the Nobel of architecture—demonstrating how the building itself functions as a teaching tool for mass timber design and construction. Grafton Architects worked closely with architect of record Modus Studio, a winner of the SLB’s 2023 Mass Timber Competition, underscoring how SLB support enables firms like Modus to contribute to more wood buildings.

Together, this content and engagement strategy supports the SLB’s “From Niche to Mainstream” plan by highlighting building types most likely to move lumber-based building systems into standard practice, accelerating users into higher engagement tiers where repeatable wood solutions drive project-level consideration and specification.

This fall, the SLB sponsored Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) School of Architecture’s first-ever mass timber-focused advanced design studio, extending real-world material literacy into the classrooms where the future architectural workforce is formed.

Led by Professor Juney Lee, the studio challenged students to move beyond conventional column-and-beam systems and reimagine mass timber structural logics for mid-rise buildings. Rather than treating wood as a prescriptive “kit of parts,” students explored how structure itself can generate architectural form—positioning mass timber as a serious, performance-driven alternative to steel and concrete in complex urban contexts.

A defining element of the studio was an immersive field trip to Alabama and Georgia, connecting design inquiry to the full material supply chain. Students visited a working forest, Rex Lumber’s production facility, SmartLam’s CLT manufacturing operations, and mass timber fabrication shops before touring completed mass timber buildings in Atlanta. Seeing these processes firsthand reshaped how students understood the material. As CMU architecture student Tina Han reflected, “This shifted my view of timber from a purely natural material to one that is highly engineered and optimized for performance.” Exposure to precision manufacturing, digital optimization, and quality control grounded students’ studio work in the realities of contemporary mass timber construction.

Integrating wood more deeply into design studios matters because these experiences shape near-term workforce readiness. Students leave with a grounded understanding of how mass timber moves from forest to factory to frame—and how design decisions affect material use, manufacturing efficiency, and constructability. By supporting a rigorous, experiential studio at a top-tier institution like CMU, the SLB is extending its education investments directly into student learning, shaping future design professionals, and advancing the longer-term goal of reinforcing mass timber as a credible, scalable building system rather than a novelty.

In 2025, the WoodWorks Innovation Network (WIN) marked five years as a resource for design and construction professionals to experience and explore innovative light-frame and mass timber projects. As it evolves, WIN remains focused on connecting design professionals, manufacturers, and suppliers while highlighting real-world projects that encourage wider use of wood in construction.

Usage growth continues to accelerate. WIN website page views increased 75% in 2025 compared with 2024, and 146 companies have joined as members to showcase their skills with innovative light-frame and mass timber construction. 

WoodWorks continues to improve the platform’s functionality, including improvements to company profile pages that better support partners with large project portfolios. WoodWorks integrates WIN into its project support and education efforts, sharing relevant local light-frame and mass timber project examples with firms seeking to build confidence with their clients. Think Wood also features WIN projects in its newsletter, extending the network’s reach to a broader professional audience. WoodWorks Technical Directors use WIN in association partnership meetings and education planning sessions to demonstrate the technical support WoodWorks provides—reinforcing wood as a viable, well-supported structural material choice.