Forum discussion

Mass timber promotion idea

All,

Some of my colleagues and I have been working to promote interest in mass timber construction for K-12 builidngs.  As part of that effort we redesigned a large high school using mass timber in lieu steel, and conducted a whole building life cycel assessment to measure the reduction in embodied carbon.  We also conducted a program-accommodation analysis to demonstrate the viability of a mass timber frame in accommodating the unique program needs of a 3-story high school.  I have a potential publisher, but they have asked if we can include similar or related efforts from multiple regions across the U.S.  The article would be less a single LCA white paper and more of a regionally-diverse survey of efforts to advance mass timber design for K-12 buildings.  Contributions could come from architects, structural engineers, contractors, school districts, etc.  If any of you are intrigued by this opportunity, please drop me a line.  Our goal is to demonstrate the viability and broad interest in mass timber for K-12 builidngs.  

Hope to hear from some of you - 

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Wed, 11/17/2021 - 22:04

Patrick, 
You could reach out to Marc Rivard at WoodWorks. They seem to have their finger on the pulse of what is going on in the mass timber world. He could probably direct you to other firms who have done LCAs on K-12 schools. marc.rivard@woodworks.org. Here is a gallery of timber construction projects. If you select for "Education" and type in "High School" or "Elementary." You can find some. 
https://www.woodworks.org/project-gallery/  

Wed, 11/17/2021 - 22:27

Will do.  Thank you, Douglas.  

Thu, 11/18/2021 - 15:17

We are working on a 3-story mass timber project at San Jacinto College near Houston, TX. It is a community college, but similar program as K-12, with predominantely classrooms and an admin area. I'm happy to connect you with the team members to give you more resources.

Thu, 11/18/2021 - 15:58

Hello We have a few projects that may respond to what you need. One high school building built with mass timber (but hybrid, so not the whole thing), one designed (not built yet) but 3 story and large also – full mass timber. We have a commercial project built (2 stories all mass timber) and a affordable housing project (7-1/2 stories) that went through detailed analysis on cost and value (only to lose to the fact that the AHJ wasn’t ready to agree to mass timber for housing use ☹). Good story there is that it proved to be cost effective against concrete and steel. (at the time in 2020 winter) Let me know if any of those make sense for you, can connect you to the structural engineer too if that is most useful From:

Mon, 11/29/2021 - 20:33

Catherine, I would like to follow up with you.  You can reach me here:  pdonnelly@integrusarch.com, or (206) 355-0699.

Mon, 11/29/2021 - 20:39

Pauline, I am interested in hearing more about these projects, the mass timber K-12 projects in particular.  May I contact you directly?  

Mon, 11/29/2021 - 21:03

Absolutely !

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