Oregon State University

Oregon’s timber-dependent rural communities and wood products manufacturing industries are poised to respond to surging demand for existing and new engineered-wood products for use as structural components in mid-rise and tall commercial buildings. Worldwide demand for environmentally sustainable, low carbon emitting buildings made of wood is driving new markets for structural building components, especially mass timber panels and beams such as Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glued Laminated Timber.

This project will augment ongoing performance testing of wood building components for commercially viable building projects, and establish an independent peer-review program to assess and compile performance information relating to mass timber construction for integration into Oregon’s building code standards. This program will be based at Oregon State University’s College of Forestry, in the National Center for Advanced Wood Products Manufacturing and Design, in collaboration with the University of Oregon, and funded in part by State of Oregon appropriations. This project will provide expertise to speed approval of existing building proposals and help create the technical foundation for future code development. Funds will support work with manufacturers and commercial developers to complete performance testing of Oregon-manufactured components for specific applications likely to be used in future wood building projects. This will make CLT and innovative uses of mass timber products technically feasible, economically viable, and an accessible alternative for architects and developers seeking to use Oregon products to meet growing consumer demand.

Oregon supporters and partners include Oregon Governor Kate Brown, Oregon Building Codes Division, Portland Architect and USDA Tall Wood Building Contest winner Thomas Robinson, and The D.R. Johnson Company, the first certified CLT production facility in the United States.

Success will represent significant economic relief to rural communities seeking to replace jobs lost to globalized commodity markets and dramatically reduced harvest levels on federal lands. This project is part of a larger state effort to drive rural economic renewal by increasing the number of jobs per 1000 board feet of timber harvested in Oregon.