New Year, More Impact

‍Pictured is the TDI Design Build Workshop held earlier this month at the Emmerson Lab at Oregon State University. Participants created a small mass timber structure.

What's New in Mass Timber?

Good Neighbor Timber Sale

Providing a sustainable supply of wood fiber is key to growing the mass timber industry. The Oregon Dept. of Forestry and the Willamette National Forest are partnering to make federal forests more resilient to wildfire and provide wood fiber for mass timber manufacturers. ODF’s efforts add workforce capacity to get more good work done on federal forests. Recently, the team developed and sold 6.8 million board feet of commercial timber to be thinned from overly dense forests near Detroit, Oregon. Freres Lumber was the high bidder on the sale and will use the logs in their mass plywood facility. When complete, the 417-acre sale area will be more open, better able to withstand wildfire and provide improved wildlife habitat.

UO MPP House Preparation Begins

One major goal for the work of the Coalition is to advance affordable housing using mass timber. Research at the University of Oregon is exploring the design, prefabrication, and constructability of a two-story mass plywood house prototype. Mass plywood (MPP) is an exciting test material due to its versatility. MPP can be made as thin as 2" and could lend itself well to smaller housing construction over traditional mass timber.The modular wall assemblies will be prefabricated at the OSU Emmerson Lab. The two-story structure will then be constructed and furnished for demonstration. Preparations for this project are happening now, with construction expected to be completed sometime in late spring. This project will also explore the potential for large-scale energy and seismic retrofits of existing housing with prefabricated mass timber assemblies.

See What We're Up To // OMTC on Social Media

We are excited to officially launch our OMTC Social Media accounts. Our goal is to educate and inspire our region through the impact of our mass timber work. Follow along with us as we work to grow the mass timber industry in the Pacific Northwest!

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Other OMTC Updates

'Code Up' Project Ramping Up

DLCD has been hard at work on the 'Code Up' project. Revisions are moving in a positive direction in the pursuit of a model code that limits restrictions to the planning and construction of mass timber buildings. Final approval is expected soon.

OMTC @ the Mass Timber Conference

The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition will make a presence at the International Mass Timber Conference on March 26-28th in Portland. We'd love to see you there! Learn more about the conference.