November 2021

SLB Programs Working Group Plots Next Steps to Bolster Wood’s Share in Residential Construction

This fall, the SLB Programs Working Group reconvened to review findings and recommendations on how the SLB can best create and capitalize on opportunities to sustain market share and increase wood use in residential construction, with a particular focus on exterior applications, built-to-rent housing, and industrialized construction practices.

Following the Working Group’s first meeting in May, the SLB commissioned additional, independent research, which concluded that the residential market is growing at a rate that disguises both regional and segment market share loss; composite decking has gained a majority share in the West; builders are likely to keep gravitating to prefabricated and modular construction to overcome labor shortages; and consumer preferences are ever evolving, prompting major shifts in residential construction trends, such as outdoor living.

Based on these findings, available resources, and market potential, the Working Group recommended that the SLB:

• Launch new efforts to explore regional growth opportunities in partnership with wood products associations, and kick-start relationships with market leaders to position wood as the material of choice for prefabricated construction.
• Maintain its messaging and communications efforts to promote wood in exterior applications, as well as program-wide efforts to tout wood’s unparalleled ability to deliver carbon and sustainability benefits.
• Track the percentage of build-to-rent and prefabricated housing entering the market annually and position wood through communications.

“The SLB has a history of successfully leveraging research to anticipate and respond to frequently changing market forces. By using data and paying careful attention to market share potential and relative returns on investment, the Programs Committee and SLB are directing our strategy and resources to where we can make the greatest difference for softwood lumber in residential markets in the next decade.” – Brian Luoma, Chair, Research and Promotion Programs Committee

The SLB Wants to Hear From You! Take Our Annual Survey

As an industry-funded initiative, the SLB’s top priority is providing timely and valuable communications to promote the benefits and uses of softwood lumber products in outdoor, residential, and non-residential construction. The SLB values the insights of its investors and partners, and invites you to complete our seven-minute annual survey. Survey responses will inform the SLB’s 2022 communications strategy and ensure that your engagement supports the curation and dissemination of timely, worthwhile information to you, your organization, and fellow members of the softwood lumber industry.

Click here to access the survey now.

The AWC Corrects Media Mischaracterization of Wood Construction

After the Boston Globe’s Real Estate blog ran a piece that included comments critical of wood construction, the American Wood Council (AWC) set the record straight and paved the way for improved perceptions. Working with a local mass timber expert, the AWC submitted a rebuttal, initiated discussion with the Globe’s editorial team to establish the AWC as a resource, and talked with the local fire chief quoted in the article.

In its meeting with the fire chief, the AWC dispelled some minor misperceptions about membrane protection of I-joist and parallel chord truss floors, talked through current fire safety in modular construction, and offered training and resources. Overall, the chief had no serious concerns about wood construction, though the Globe’s piece cast doubt.

The chief was impressed enough with the AWC’s knowledge and expertise that he invited AWC representatives to present on tall mass timber to a building construction class that he teaches at a community college, and he offered to share the AWC’s information with regional fire service organizations for future reference.

Think Wood Profiles Top Firms Innovating With Timber

Promoting innovative wood construction by respected architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms has proved to be an effective strategy to engage building material decision makers. Beginning last fall, Think Wood created quarterly Studio Spotlights on influential AEC firms with attention-grabbing wood portfolios, including Patkau Architects, Fast + Epp, and Perkins&Will. The Studio Spotlights have consistently performed well with database contacts, who are more engaged with wood construction and interested in understanding how prominent firms are innovating with mass timber.

The Perkins&Will Spotlight went to 27,811 contacts, with an above-average open rate of 29.9% and click-through rate of 11%. Social promotion generated 240 downloads, and across channels, the spotlight accounted for 23% of downloads in September and October, with a cost per download 36% lower than benchmark.

Upon receiving the Perkins&Will Spotlight, an architect at the global architecture and design firm Gensler reached out to ask Think Wood to feature its work with timber. Working with Gensler’s international PR team, Think Wood published the Gensler Studio Spotlight in November, featuring four innovative timber projects in the company’s portfolio: First United Bank, in Fredericksburg, Texas; Jackson Hole Airport in Wyoming; 2100 Kettner in San Diego, California; and PMX 35, a prototype for the world’s tallest timber tower at 35 stories.

An additional Q&A with Steven Paynter, a Gensler architect, explores Gensler’s interest in mass timber as a climate solution and the firm’s focus on integrating timber into its portfolio to meet internal climate goals.

“The goal is that we stop treating [mass timber] as a niche material and see it as a valid, sustainable material for a broad spectrum of buildings. In the next five years, I would like to see mass timber become ‘the norm’ in design, and by 2030 it should be the first choice of structure in most of our projects below 12 stories. That’s where we need to get to in order to meet Gensler’s climate goals. This has to be the future.” – Steven Paynter

By profiling and gaining support from industry leaders like Gensler, Think Wood positions mass timber to expand beyond a niche market into the mainstream.

The AWC Features New Mass Timber Arena in Popular Video

In honor of National Forest Products Week, the AWC released a video highlighting the University of Idaho’s recently completed mass timber basketball arena. The video weaves in the industry’s carbon story and highlights unique attributes of the project, including local and sustainable sourcing, job creation, and pride in place and identity. The building is an aesthetic masterpiece, and it elicited powerful reactions from those attending its recent grand opening.

The AWC promoted the video in correspondence to its member companies and on social media; thus far, it has garnered more than 40,000 views on YouTube.

WoodWorks’ Expert Tips Respond to Common Questions

In addition to providing project support and education, the development of technical content is critical to solidifying and maintaining WoodWorks’ role as a trusted source for the design and construction community. Content on its website is wide-ranging—from case studies and solution papers to an Expert Tips section that gives detailed responses to specific questions or areas of misunderstanding. This month, WoodWorks added three tips to the page to tackle common queries related to light-frame and mass timber:

• What are the fire-resistance rating and material requirements for elements supporting vertical offsets in exterior walls?
• What is the impact of wood stud size and spacing on the fire-resistance and acoustical performance of a wall assembly? Can stud sizes and spacing be altered from those in tested wall systems?
• Do small holes and penetrations in mass timber floor panels always require reinforcing? Are there guidelines for when the panel is adequate without supplemental framing?

Written by WoodWorks’ technical staff, tips are used to support project assists and are promoted through e-marketing and social media. There are currently 60 Expert Tips available at woodworks.org.

WIN Reveals Connection Between Past WoodWorks Support and New Project in Nashville

A surprise benefit of the WoodWorks Innovation Network (WIN) is that it sometimes reveals projects that benefitted from WoodWorks’ support long after the help was provided. Such is the case with the 110,000-square-foot 1030 Music Row project in Nashville, Tennessee.

After attending a WoodWorks seminar in 2017, Tuck-Hinton Architecture & Design was inspired to consider changing an office project it had designed in steel and concrete to mass timber. The Tuck-Hinton team went so far as to revise the column grid spacing in consultation with WoodWorks and network with potential suppliers for input and pricing. Ultimately, the project owner decided that it was too far along to switch structural materials; however, the Tuck-Hinton team continued to attend WoodWorks events, including the 2019 Mass Timber Conference, and use resources such as the carbon calculator.

It was not until a member of Tuck-Hinton’s staff joined WIN that WoodWorks learned the company had applied the support and education previously received to a new project—a boutique office building on Music Row—that is nearly complete. “The initial exploration we did [in 2017] led directly to using mass timber on the new building,” confirmed Curtis Lesh of Tuck-Hinton Architecture & Design. “We relied heavily on the education resources at WoodWorks to validate the choice to use mass timber. I think the carbon calculator is particularly compelling.”

The structure, 1030 Music Row, includes five levels of Class-A office space over four levels of underground parking, a CLT elevator shaft, DLT floor and roof panels, and a glulam post-and-beam frame. The project is set to consume over 2.7 million board feet of softwood lumber, which equates to more than 24 board feet consumed per square foot of construction.

The AWC’s Stegner Speaks about Lumber Supply Chain, Mass Timber

The AWC’s Heather Stegner shared her knowledge and expertise about the lumber supply chain during a recent interview on the new Construction Revolution podcast, which is geared toward helping those in the construction industry build long-term success in business. In addition to discussing the long-term capacity effects of the Great Recession, Stegner also shared the exciting innovations and carbon storage potential of wood products. Listen to the podcast here or watch it on YouTube.

NYT Documents Rise in Single-Family Rentals

The New York Times recently covered the rapid rise of the single-family built-to-rent housing market, whose stock of new inventory increased 30% from 2019 to 2020 alone. Single-family built-to-rent housing currently makes up 35% of all U.S. rentals and 6% of all new housing built. This latter number is expected to double in the next decade, making it the fastest growing sector in the U.S. housing market.

While currently satisfying consumer demand for affordable, maintenance-free living against a backdrop of low inventory and skyrocketing housing prices, the Times notes that the segment’s meteoric rise foretells a downside for consumers—a lack of wealth building. Housing has historically been the most direct path to build wealth for Americans, and many new and replacement homebuyers simply cannot compete with the purchasing power of institutional buyers. Some analysts predict that this lost opportunity to build equity and wealth will have longstanding negative consequences for consumers and perpetuate the shift toward renting, which may only exacerbate the housing crisis. As an outcome of the study commissioned by the Programs Working Group earlier this year, the SLB will continue to observe the trend of build-to-rent and position positively wood through communications for this sector.

Read more from The New York Times here.

Bloomberg Publishes Primer on Carbon Markets

Against the backdrop of the recently completed COP26 climate negotiations in Scotland, Bloomberg published a primer in The Washington Post on how carbon markets function. To date, more than 60 jurisdictions have adopted carbon pricing instead of regulations. Hailed by many as a free-market alternative, carbon pricing is not without its doubters and critics. Bloomberg reviews how carbon pricing works; its prevalence and effects on behavior, including, for example, a faster transition to natural gas in Europe; recent developments, including China’s engagement in a carbon market for its power sector; and oppositional views.

Read more about carbon markets here.

Portland Airport to Install Signature Mass Timber Roof

The Portland International Airport (PDX) will soon welcome an architectural masterpiece to its newly overhauled main terminal—a massive, 392,000-square-foot mass timber roof, peaking at 54 feet tall at its center. The new roof is being assembled as 20 120′x110′ modules and will be installed in situ in the summer of 2022 while the airport operates beneath.

PDX’s new roof is expected to make Oregonians proud because the roof’s glulam beams were manufactured in Eugene by Zip-O Laminators, and another Oregon firm, Timberlab, executed the computer numerical control profiling to ensure perfect connections between the beams and supporting steel frame. The roof’s beams and mechanical features will be covered with a Douglas Fir lattice.

Portland authorities chose mass timber for its performance, local connections, aesthetics, and seismic stability, and modular construction to accommodate construction and operational space constraints. PDX expects its airport rebuild will be finished in 2025.

Read more about the project here.