Mass timber, including cross-laminated timber (CLT), has been in use worldwide for over 15 years, but most notably in Europe. However, North American designers and engineers are increasingly showing interest in picking up the trend.
Building with mass timber for taller buildings has increased in popularity for many reasons including: just-in-time fabrication and job site delivery, speed and efficiency in construction, reduced job site noise and on-site labor force, substitution of high embodied materials with a renewable resource that sequesters carbon, and creating a living or work space that has the aesthetics of exposed wood.
The recent introduction of CLT in the 2015 National Design Specification® for Wood Construction (NDS®) and the 2015 International Building Code has opened up an exciting new chapter in wood construction. The use of CLT alone, or in combination with other mass timber elements, such as glued laminated timber (GLT), nail laminated timber (NLT), or structural composite lumber (SCL), is becoming more common in buildings complying with the latest building code.
There is also an effort underway by the International Code Council (ICC) to recognize the use of mass timber elements in even taller construction through the work of the ICC Tall Wood Ad Hoc Committee.
Education is an important step in order to move forward with more tall wood buildings. AWC invites you to join us for a free webinar to learn more about the code and standard updates in the U.S. relevant to mass timber, current tall wood building projects, and the available resources.
This presentation will provide an introduction to mass timber and CLT including relevant design standards and code references. Examples of various mass timber buildings around the world will be provided and potential future code provisions relating to mass timber will also be discussed.
We hope you will join us to learn more about mass timber and the possibilities of tall wood buildings.