The Governor’s Forest Management Task Force and the Office of Planning and
Research has announced winners of a first-ever competition highlighting mass timber projects.
“Mass timber has the potential to help advance three Newsom Administration priorities:
affordable housing, healthy forest management, and rural economic development,” California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot said. “We’re excited to highlight these projects and introduce Californians to a product that is gaining acceptance around the world for its multiple benefits.”
A panel of expert judges selected the four winners (and two honorable mentions) that will
receive support and recognition to build projects that demonstrate mass timber’s potential.
Projects selected to receive grants in the California Mass Timber Building Competition:
Two projects received honorable mentions in the competition:
Through the Mass Timber Building Competition, the State is awarding a total of $500,000 to four projects that demonstrate mass timber’s potential to help address multiple challenges while creating new rural economic opportunities.
Mass timber encompasses a variety of large-format panelized wood products, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), nail- or dowel-laminated timber, and mass plywood panels, that can be used both decoratively and structurally – even in tall buildings. Since engineering creates its strength and structural integrity, mass timber can be made from a variety of wood materials.
“As California seeks to reduce catastrophic wildfires, mass timber offers a solution for materials that result from forest management efforts – a solution that can avoid air quality impacts while storing carbon in buildings expected to have life spans of 100 years or more,” said Kate Gordon, director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and the Governor’s senior advisor on climate.
Designers favor mass timber as a construction material for its strength, fire resistance,
aesthetic, construction efficiency, reduced carbon footprint, and ability to work alongside other materials as a structural element.
Mass timber is more commonly used for construction in Europe, but the last decade has
brought an increase in mass timber as a structural element in North America; Canada,
Washington, and Oregon are actively working to mainstream mass timber in the built
environment.
“A centuries old building model—utilizing large timber for construction—can show us the way to the future of building,” said Jennifer Montgomery, director of the Governor’s Forest
Management Task Force. “Wood is a green, renewable source of carbon-sequestering building materials that will help address environmental, social and economic issues.”
California is the largest consumer of engineered wood products west of the Mississippi River, yet none is produced in the state.
By showcasing opportunities for mass timber, State agencies seek to stimulate the demand for buildings constructed using mass timber and generate investor interest in potential in-state production capacity while advancing California’s climate change and green building objectives.
In addition to creating economic opportunities in rural areas, locating manufacturing in
California would reduce the cost of mass timber and make it a more cost-effective building
material to increase affordable housing stock in urban areas where transit and amenities are within walking distance.
“Increased use of mass timber can benefit forest health and rural economic development, while reducing carbon emissions related to construction in California,” said Jennifer Cover, president and CEO of WoodWorks, which administered the competition. “The winning projects further highlight the design possibilities of timber and encourage wider adoption of its use throughout the state and across the country.”
In recognition of mass timber’s multiple potential benefits, the 2018-19 State budget allocated $500,000 in prize money for the Mass Timber Building Competition, organized under the Forest Management Task Force with leadership from Office of Planning and Research, Natural Resources Agency, and Government Operations Agency.
The awards will fund activities that include cost studies, permitting fees, and information
exchange sessions with code officials. Additional details about the competition and winning
projects are available here.
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