The City of Denver is the latest in a growing number of cities, states, and municipalities to recognize the possibilities of tall mass timber construction. Following states such as Oregon, Utah, and Washington, the City of Denver voted in late December to adopt the 2019 Denver Building Code, including the tall mass timber provisions from the previously-approved 2021 International Building Code (IBC), the model building code from the International Code Council. In particular, these provisions allow for the construction of mass timber buildings up to 18 stories.
The City of Denver’s adoption shows a growing trend, in both public policy and architectural design, toward more sustainable building methods. With environmental sustainability consuming the national discourse, reducing the environmental footprint of construction is becoming paramount in the construction industry. In order to reduce carbon emissions during the building process, more and more designers and builders are looking for alternative construction methods, most notably, building with mass timber. Wood’s carbon-sequestering attributes are no secret, and the development of innovative wood products, such as mass timber, allows for architects and builders to take wood construction to new heights.
Although tall mass timber construction has been used for years in Europe, the increased use of it in this country dates back to the T3 project in Minneapolis in 2016. Since then, construction of tall mass timber buildings has begun all over the United States, with many more planned for the near future. Now, with new tall mass timber construction types being implemented, the benefits of mass timber’s rapid construction schedules, structural stability, and fire resistance are demonstrating how it is an effective and safe building material alternative to high-carbon-emitting materials in taller projects.
AWC has teamed up with the International Code Council to present a series of webinars and seminars on the tall mass timber codes. You can learn about mass timber, allowed heights and areas in the 2021 IBC, fire and connection design, and more during the following sessions:
Mass Timber Construction Webinars
• Heights and Areas and Construction Fire Safety | February 24, 2020 or June 8, 2020
• Fire Safety | March 23, 2020 or June 15, 2020
• Principles of Fire and Connection Design and Special Inspection | April 8, 2020 or June 22, 2020
• Introduction to Mass Timber Products | May 11, 2020
• What's New in 2015/2018 for Mass Timber Construction | May 18, 2020
• Background and Overview | June 1, 2020
Mass Timber Building Seminars
• March 24, 2020 | Chicago, IL
• May 26, 2020 | Virtual
• June 23, 2020 | Brea, CA
• August 25, 2020 | Virtual
• November 10, 2020 | Virtual
Additional education on tall mass timber for the fire service is being jointly planned with the International Association of Fire Chiefs.
Environmental sustainability and safety are of the utmost importance to AWC, and we applaud the City of Denver for being the latest to recognize the advantages of mass timber in the push for sustainable construction. We look forward to seeing which cities, states, or municipalities are next.