Though timber has long been used in building construction, historically, tall wood buildings depended on heavy timber sourced from old growth forest resources – now an outdated approach. Relying instead on sustainably managed forests, engineered mass timber products have the potential to transform the future of wood construction.

Examples of mass timber technology in application remain relatively scarce, with a lack of both precedent case studies and knowledge sharing creating a roadblock for widespread adoption.  Enter The Mass Timber Building Science Primer.

Developed by Ted Kesik and Rosemary Martin of the Mass Timber Institute at the University of Toronto, the publication will inform stakeholders of key considerations before embarking on a mass timber building project. Readers are guided through an aggregate of resources, by way of “knowledge mapping”, with an aim to ease the arduous task of distilling the complex and vast information available on mass timber. 

This roadmap explores the life cycle of a mass timber project, highlighting the need to integrate more contemporary approaches in viewing buildings as a system. The application of building science to mass timber technology signals a renaissance for the renewable resource, answering the call for sustainable, low carbon design methodologies.

DIALOG is proud to be included in The Mass Timber Building Science Primer for our work on the Zero Carbon Hybrid Timber Supertall Prototype. We remain focused on the AIA 2030 Commitment to design all of our projects to be carbon neutral by 2030, and we see mass timber building technology as a key contributor in achieving this goal.