During this two-day event, audience members were exposed to the knowledge of leading experts in the mass timber industries of forestry, manufacturing, construction, and design. Through the lens of architecture, we decoded the ecological and economic impacts of the timber industry; discussed wood utilization in construction; challenged antiquated practices; reviewed the past and present works of mass timber design pioneers, and proposed the future of mass timbers and architecture.
Below you will find a detailed event program, interactive webpage, and all of the recorded presentations from the entire symposium. Please be patient as we are currently editing and preparing the videos for the website. They will be uploaded incrementally over time.
As the demand for mass timber and solid wood is increasing for large-scale construction, a strategic plan must be implemented in order to ensure supply and minimize environmental impacts. This tract will focus on the interrelationship between the environment and the economy of the wood industry.
Laura Bosworth, Florida Forestry Association, Director of Forestry & Regulatory Affairs
INTRODUCING THE SPEAKERS AND LEADING THE Q&A
PRESENTERS
Jarek Novak, Florida Forestry
TALK TITLE: FORESTRY IN FLORIDA - BASIC CHARACTERISTICS AND ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
The physical and biological characteristics of Florida’s forests will be described. The importance of forests to the state’s economy will be presented in the context of forest sustainability.
Scott Phillips, South Carolina Forestry
TALK TITLE: THE STATE OF FORESTRY IN SOUTH CAROLINA AND BEYOND
We will discuss the state of forests, markets, and sustainability in the south and specifically in South Carolina. Participants will learn how building with wood supports sustainable forests in South Carolina and beyond.
Risher Willard, Georgia Forestry
TALK TITLE: FORESTRY IN GEORGIA
Forestry in Georgia will provide a brief review of Georgia’s forest industry including forestry practices, forest resources & sustainability, economic impacts, and wood-using industries.
(Ecology + Forestry-Part II)
PRESENTER
Christian Messier, UQAM
TALK TITLE: HOW CAN FORESTRY PLAY A POSITIVE ROLE AGAINST INCREASING SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL UNCERTAINTIES BROUGHT ABOUT BY GLOBAL CHANGES?
Climate change is now part of our daily lives: heatwave, drought, ice storm, climatic fluctuations, etc. These climatic disturbances also greatly affect our trees and forests. But it may not be the biggest threat to our forests and trees. Indeed, they must also face more and more a "close encounter of the third kind"; insects and diseases from Europe and Asia, which weakens and kills them. Together, these global changes will strongly influence the composition, structure, and health of our forests over the next 100 years. So, what is the future perspective of our forest facing these global changes and what can we do now to help our trees and forests adapt to these major changes? Can forestry also play a positive role in mitigating climate change and the biodiversity crisis? Professor Messier will address these questions and attempt to propose effective and realistic solutions to increase the positive role that forestry can play under these uncertain times.
Architects and engineers routinely and opportunistically mischaracterize the carbon dynamics of timber buildings and thus mislead the public and themselves about the potential ecological efficacy of timber building. A nexus-based forest-building framework that overtly synchronizes forest and building practices is necessary to amend this mischaracterization and to develop more mindful approaches to not just building, but forests, people, economies, and future climates.
Ravi Srinivasan, University of Florida
TALK TITLE: INTEGRATED LIFE CYCLE ENERGY, EMISSIONS, IMPACT TO ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND EMERGY ANALYSIS.
Even with advancements in technologies, material analyses are conducted in silos. In this presentation, an integrated life cycle energy, emissions, impact to ecosystem services, and energy analysis is discussed. Such integrated analysis will play a critical role in the use of alternative materials in construction.
Salmaan Craig, McGill University
TALK TITLE: UPGRADE TO DRAWDOWN: RADICAL INTEGRATION WITH BIOGENIC MATERIALS
Salmaan asks how to design biogenic materials to exchange fresh air and low-grade heat, simplify building systems, and store atmospheric carbon for centuries ahead.
Sherry Mundell resides in Austin TX, and attained a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a licensed Professional Engineer and was a practicing structural consultant for 13 years designing commercial buildings of all material types throughout the Southeast US. Sherry began specializing in wood structures when she joined Woodworks in 2014; where she focused on assisting architects, engineers, and code officials on the practical implementation of building codes and design strategies for Mass Timber buildings. She joined Structurlam in 2020 to support the expanded production of the Conway AR facility.
Simon Siegert, SmartLam NA
TALK TITLE: CLT DELIVERY, HOW TO PLAN YOUR PROJECT
Kyle Freres, Freres Lumber Co.
TALK TITLE: MASS PLY PANELS & LAMS- 100 YEARS OF INDUSTRY EVOLUTION TO A NEW TYPE OF BUILDING PRODUCT
This presentation focuses on the gradual industry evolution in manufacturing and resource availability that led to the development of innovative Mass Timber Products. Of key importance is respecting our natural resources by making the greatest beneficial use of available fiber with no waste, while providing a virtuous cycle to local rural communities.
Drew Willms, Structure Craft
TALK TITLE: DOWEL-LAMINATED TIMBER: MANUFACTURING FOR DESIGN
What key elements should be considered early in the design development process of a mass timber project that drive efficiency in manufacturing, logistics planning, and construction? This question will be explored through the presentation of real built project examples across North America.
The building sector is one of the most significant sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, solid waste, and land-use impact. By rematerializing the demands of our construction economy in order to strengthen forests and optimize the ecosystem services they can provide, we might turn cities from a source of waste and emissions into material banks with massive long-term carbon storage capacity.
This discussion involves everything from wood utilization through the construction of a building to challenging antiquated and often compartmentalized practices. Through advancements in building technologies and industrial processes, a new trajectory for wood in the built environment could be implemented.
TALK TITLE: CROSS-LAMINATED TIMBER IN SOUTH FLORIDA – MIAMI-DADE COUNTY SETS PRECEDENT FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
When two architects who also teach at the University of Miami designed a cross-laminated timber (CLT) building in Miami-Dade County, the goal was to encourage greater building sustainability by setting a precedent for mass timber in South Florida. They enlisted the support of WoodWorks – Wood Products Council, which worked with its industry partners to undertake testing, gather research, and generally provide the information required for the Building Department to approve its first CLT structure. Attend this session to learn what is needed to successfully permit a mass timber project in Miami-Dade County.
Elizabeth Stokes, Mississippi State
TALK TITLE: TOWARD AN UNDERSTANDING OF DECAY AND TERMITE DAMAGE IN MASS TIMBER
Unprotected mass timber products behave like any other untreated wood product, with susceptibility to decay and other damaging elements. However, when applied in a manner in which the risks are minimized, or protected by a coating or protective treatment, mass timber products can provide unmatched carbon storage benefits in a structure, with strong flexibility and customization options. This presentation will discuss the problems that need to be avoided, and potential solutions for protecting the material.
Uli Dangel, University of Texas at Austin Texas
TALK TITLE: EXPOSED WOOD – WEATHERING AND PROTECTION
Wood in exterior applications is subjected to various environmental effects caused by solar radiation, precipitation, wind, and other factors. Photochemical, biological, and physical processes alter the chemical composition of wood surfaces and, in the worst cases, can lead to deterioration and decay. This talk will discuss several strategies–including preventative measures, surface treatments, and chemical modifications–to ensure the success and durability of exposed wood in long-term applications.
TALK TITLE: COULD CROSS LAMINATED TIMBER BUILDINGS BE A SOLUTION TO BOTH CLIMATE CHANGE AND RESILIENT HOUSING?
Approximately 127 million or 40 percent of the US population reside in coastal counties with the majority of the population live in low- and mid-rise buildings, which are predominantly light-frame construction. The average losses from hurricanes and other windstorms total about $54 billion USD annually. The introduction of cross-laminated timber (CLT), a sustainable and resilient building material, may offer a solution to windstorm damage in low-rise structures. This presentation will discuss recent advancements in cross-laminated timber research, with a special focus on its application to construct resilient CLT buildings in high wind regions.
Greg Kingsley, KL&A Engineers and Builders
TALK TITLE: STRUCTURAL OPTIMIZATION OF MASS TIMBER BEAM-COLUMN FRAMING SYSTEMS
Rapidly growing interest in mass timber building systems has uncovered a challenge: the structural grids and framing systems that work to wood’s best cost advantage may not be the same as the more traditional systems they are seeking to replace. This presentation will focus on work recently completed in collaboration with the Colorado School of Mines to identify optimal configurations for competitive mass timber structures, including those designed to meet the requirements of building types III-A, III-B, and IV-HT, as well as the new building Types IV-A, IV-B, and IV-C.
Lucas Epp, Structure Craft
TALK TITLE: DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS FOR EFFICIENT MASS TIMBER MANUFACTURING & CONSTRUCTION
What key elements should be considered early in the design development process of a mass timber project that drive efficiency in manufacturing, logistics planning, and construction? This question will be explored through the presentation of real built project examples across North America.
Tract three, retrospective and projective design will engage the questions of how we got here, where did we come from, and where it is we think we are going. The architecture of wood will be the lens through which we explore these questions.
TALK TITLE: TREE FORK TRUSS: BUILDING WITH THE INHERENT PROPERTIES OF TREES The shape of the wood buildings we erect have a consequential impact on the form of the world’s forests. Since 1985 the AA’s Hooke Park campus – a unique site merging camp, hi-tech workshop, and design studio within a working forest – has been host to a line of projects which challenge the ways we usually make buildings with trees. These ideas will be presented through the AA Design + Make program’s pivotal ‘Tree Fork Truss’ project.
Andrew Freear, Rural Studio, Auburn University
TALK TITLE: RURAL STUDIO: WORKING BY HAND
A brief reflection on the history of the Studio’s timber explorations through today’s science-based research collaboration with McGill University.
Jan Knippers, ICD-ITKE University of Stuttgart
TALK TITLE: ROBOTIC FABRICATION IN TIMBER CONSTRUCTION
To fight climate change, it is imperative that we drastically increase the use of wood in building construction. However, wood as a building material is typically limited to regular grids and small spans. The presentation will show how the development of computational design methods and robotic fabrication processes can significantly expand the range of timber structures.
TALK TITLE: MASS TIMBER 2.0: THE RETROFUTURE OF WOOD TECHNOLOGY
Wood construction systems are defined by qualities that are both normative and transcendent, an ambivalence that informs our contemporary understanding of wood. In this regard, it is not surprising that wood construction technology is at a moment of reconsideration, as the industry balances the straightforward, “rational” use of wood as described by Banham with the social and environmental implications of wood as a primary building material, renewable but hardly unlimited. Mass Timber 2.0 is characterized not by novelty, aspiration, or good intentions but by significant industry rationalization.
Jonathan Tate, OJT
TALK TITLE: FRAMING TACTICS
A look at how the conventions of framing and lumber-use are advantaged to elaborate form and systematization in housing.
Roberto de Leon, de Leon & Primmer
TALK TITLE: SPLINTERS
The presentation will focus on a selection of explorations in wood, charting out a line of experimentation and research through multiple trajectories unique to each project.
Z Smith + Mike Johnson, EDR [Eskew Dumez Ripple]
TALK TITLE: CHOPPING DOWN BARRIERS TO WOOD CONSTRUCTION
EDR practices a specific approach when designing with wood that focuses on lowering the barriers for wood construction. This talk will provide insight to participants through the analysis of three projects.
Ruth Mandl + Bobby Johnston, CO Adaptive
TALK TITLE: ADAPTING WOOD: REAPPROPRIATING AND REENGINEERING WOOD TO PROVIDE SOLUTIONS FOR ADAPTIVE REUSE.
Focusing on an adaptive reuse project in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn, this talk will explore the use of CLT and Glulams in evolving an existing heavy timber industrial building into theatrical studios.
DEAN PETER MACKEITH, Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas
TALK TITLE: THE ARKANSAS TIMBER PROJECTS
The state of Arkansas is 57% covered in forest. Over the last five years, the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design has advocated for the wise management and utilization of these forests and timberlands, with an emphasis on both environmental health and sustainability and economic development and job creation. In these efforts, asserting the value of design has been a key element in re-shaping the perspectives of multiple stakeholders. This presentation describes the multiple initiatives undertaken by the School towards these purposes and outcomes.
Special thanks to our sponsors: Woodworks, AIA Miami, U.S. Forest Service, University of Miami School of Architecture, The Littoral Urbanism Lab.
