Written in collaboration with Brady Potts, Kirby Beegles, PE, SE & Martin/Martin, Inc.
Timber looks great in renderings. But getting it built to match your vision? That’s a different game.
More and more architects are reaching for mass timber, and for good reason. It’s natural. Renewable. Visually stunning. It checks the sustainability box and helps deliver the kind of warm, high-performance spaces clients love.
But somewhere between “we want mass timber” and “this got built,” things can start to fall apart. Floor systems get thicker than expected. Lateral systems eat into usable square footage. Connections look beautiful in renderings but fall apart in the shop drawings. Costs creep. Headroom disappears. And just like that, the warm, clean vision that sold the project starts to unravel.
This isn’t because mass timber doesn’t work. It’s because timber doesn’t work like steel or concrete. It has its own strengths. Its own limits. Its own sequencing logic and connection anatomy and fabrication workflows.
And unless your structural engineer has actually done this before, and really done it, your project may be headed for a hard lesson.
This article is for architects who are serious about mass timber. We’re breaking down the key systems to think through, the common traps to avoid, and the kinds of engineering decisions that separate smooth projects from painful ones. Along the way, we’ll share four real-world case studies, from a hybrid LVL arena roof to an all-wood office building, that show what it looks like when a structural team knows how to make timber work.
And at the end we have 5 Questions Every Architect Should Ask Their Timber Engineer.
Courtesy of Martin/Martin Consulting EngineersThe Timber Trap (and How to Avoid It)
Big ideas are easy. Keeping them intact through detailing, coordination, and budgeting? That’s where timber projects rise or fall.
Maybe the renderings promised exposed wood ceilings and long, open spans. But then the floor assembly thickened—cutting into headroom and throwing off elevations. Or that clean timber expression got buried under last-minute steel hangers, knife plates, and bolted-on fixes no one budgeted for. Or the timber installer wasn’t looped in before MEP was finalized—and now there’s a glulam beam clashing with the main duct run.
It happens all the time. And not because the architecture was wrong, but because the engineering wasn’t ready.
Mass timber behaves differently than steel or concrete. It spans differently. Shrinks. Handles fire differently. Connects differently. And it demands a different level of precision because once it’s cut, it’s final.
When you’re working with an engineer who doesn’t know mass timber, problems like these can show up:
● Floor systems chew up ceiling height.
● Steel plates and bolts everywhere just to make the spans work.
● Bracing shows up where your clients don’t want to see it.
● Details that look clean in the model but don’t work for the install or budget.
● Cost surprises once the suppliers quote the panels & connections.
But with the right structural partner, someone who’s already engineered these systems, coordinated with suppliers, and seen projects to completion where these decisions play out, the picture changes:
● Your grid, spans, and panel sizes are coordinated early before they turn into cost and layout problems later.
● Lateral systems integrate cleanly without wrecking your layout.
● Service runs are coordinated early so your exposed timber stays clean.
● You spend less time fighting the structure and more time embracing it.
That’s the difference a timber-savvy engineer makes. They’re not just reviewing your drawings, they’re making sure the design actually gets built the way you envision it.
Proof in the Projects
Great mass timber buildings don’t happen by accident.
They demand precision across every phase from early design through construction. When the architect’s intent and the engineer’s detailing align early, structure supports design instead of limiting it.
These four projects show how that kind of partnership pays off on paper, on site, and in the finished space.
Kibbie Dome – University of Idaho
400 feet. Timber + Steel. Since 1975.
The Kibbie Dome made history. Completed in 1975, this arched barrel-vault roof still defines the Idaho campus today. Each timber truss spans about 400′, weighs around 23 tons and supports a roof covering 4.1 acres.
Credit: Moscow Pullman Daily News
Martin/Martin, Inc’s structural team designed a hybrid LVL and steel truss system, combining engineered wood ribs with discreet steel tension elements optimized for long-span efficiency and high snow loads. They engineered a system that allowed the final arch to be erected just eight months after bid award; an unusually fast delivery for a project of this scale.
That rapid build and hybrid design earned the Dome the 1976 ASCE Structural Engineering Achievement Award.
What it proved:
● Timber can rival steel for long-span performance.
● Hybrid systems cut structural weight and complexity.
● Locally sourced wood made the structure sustainable long before mass timber was cool.
Jackson Hole Airport – Wyoming
Courtesy of Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers
The warmth of wood with the resilience of steel.
Nestled in Grand Teton National Park, the Jackson Hole Airport terminal faced a mountain of constraints: an 18‑foot height limit, heavy snow loads, strict seismic codes, plus a big design ambition. But the result? A stunning, lodge-style space where exposed glulam trusses float over an airy ticketing hall, delivering warmth without sacrificing structural performance.
Martin/Martin worked closely with Gensler to engineer queen-post glulam trusses that spanned the ticketing hall column-free, yet stayed within vertical restrictions. Slender steel rod bottom chords and innovative timber-steel hybrid eccentrically braced frames quietly handle earthquake loads, meeting seismic performance flawlessly while enhancing the timber aesthetic.
What it proved:
● Performance needn’t compromise design.
● Long-span timber can be tailored to tight site constraints.
● Hybrid systems can meet seismic requirements without visual clutter.
HarborCenter – Buffalo, NY
Courtesy of Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers
Hockey arena. Clear-span roof.
HarborCenter’s practice rink features a 140-foot clear span over the ice, supported by eight massive lenticular glulam-and-steel trusses spaced at 28.5 feet apart. The top chords are 31″×31″ glulam beams creating a warm, expressive ceiling while the bottom chords are slender 10″×10″ steel hollow sections, providing strength without visual bulk.
The best part? The hybrid roof system did not increase construction cost compared to a conventional all-steel frame.
What it proved:
● Hybrid glulam/steel trusses = clear spans + design appeal.
● Long-span timber systems are constructible and cost-competitive.
● You don’t have to choose between budget, performance, and visual quality.
Viega HQ – Denver Metro
Courtesy of Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers
A milestone in Colorado’s mass timber movement.
Before local supply caught up, Martin/Martin partnered with Viega to import European CLT and glulam delivering one of Colorado’s first all-wood office campuses in Broomfield. This wasn’t about cladding a structure in timber. The structure became the architecture.
They engineered expressive curved rooflines, exposed glulam frames, and custom connection details that gave the building a handcrafted feel without compromising performance. Every decision had to meet code, coordinate with international suppliers, and hold up under real-world construction pressures. Martin/Martin didn’t just design it. They worked side by side with fabricators and detailers to make it buildable, cost-effective, and on schedule.
What it proved:
● Bold timber design doesn’t need a steel backup plan.
● Navigating global timber supply chains is part of the good structural engineer’s capabilities.
● When your Structural Engineer protects the vision, design intent stays intact.
Each of these projects could have gone sideways. Instead, they became proof points, because they had structural engineers who knew what to expect, how to solve it, and how to make timber perform as good as it looks.
5 Questions Every Architect Should Ask Their Timber Engineer
By the time CLT appears in your drawings, the most critical structural decisions have often already been made. That’s why successful mass timber projects don’t start with a material choice, they start with a coordinated system.
When the system isn’t right from the beginning, everything downstream gets harder: ceiling heights shrink, connections get messy, and MEP coordination turns into a headache.
So before you get too far into your design, Martin/Martin recommends you ask your structural engineer these five questions. Their answers will tell you if they’re ready to deliver a timber system that supports your vision instead of complicating it.
1. How are we handling fire and acoustics without eating floor height?
Architectural timber relies on exposed ceilings and open structure but fire ratings, STC, and IIC performance still matter. Too often, these are hidden behind drop ceilings or thick assemblies that consume vertical space. The right engineer layers tested fire and acoustic systems into slim, constructible details preserving both the design intent and clearances.
Martin/Martin’s work at Viega HQ proves it's possible to expose structure and meet performance without compromises.
2. Can this grid span cleanly without steel? If not, what’s the tradeoff?
Sometimes steel helps. But sometimes it can dilute the warmth of timber. Knowing when and why to integrate steel into a glulam or CLT system can make the difference between a buildable hybrid, or a tradeoff between budget and design.
At HarborCenter, Martin/Martin used glulam and steel together, leveraging each material where it performed best to span 140 feet with a clean expression.
3. What lateral system fits best (wood, steel, hybrid)? How does it shape your plan?
You don’t want to find out late in the design process that the lateral system will steal usable floor area. Whether it’s wood shear walls, ductile steel links, or concealed bracing, those systems shape your plan, your circulation, and your layout. Your engineer should be thinking about this on Day One.
Martin/Martin’s solution at Jackson Hole Airport used steel-timber hybrid eccentrically braced frames featuring steel links embedded within the timber system to meet performance requirements and integrate seamlessly into the architecture.
Courtesy of Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers
4. Will your beam/deck profiles crush headroom or overshadow proportions?
CLT and glulam systems aren’t always thin. Without careful system sizing, you’ll be forced to raise your floor-to-floor height, or lose ceiling height.
At Jackson Hole, the team maintained an 18-foot total height limit by engineering efficient glulam trusses that kept spans long and profiles lean.
5. Do we have multiple supplier options, and is the grid flexible to optimize for performance and cost?
Where your wood is coming from, and when, shapes everything from panel sizes and grid spacing, to lead times to connection tolerances. Your engineer should be asking: who’s supplying this, what’s their standard panel sizes, how’s that impact the grid, how is it fabricated, and what’s our install method?
Martin/Martin’s early involvement in the Viega HQ project meant they coordinated with European suppliers before domestic CLT was even common, solving potential issues before they ever hit the site.
Courtesy of Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers
You don’t need to think like a structural engineer. But you do need one who thinks like a partner.
These questions aren’t gotchas, they’re invitations. Ask them early, ask them often, and make sure the person across the table has real answers backed by real projects.
Why Martin/Martin?
Martin/Martin’s mass‑timber portfolio isn’t just deep, it’s broad. They’ve worked on benchmark projects across categories; from long‑span glulam stadium roofs to full timber office campuses, proving timber can serve any building type. Their resume includes sports facilities, airports, arenas, office buildings, and more, with structural systems as varied as the projects themselves.
Their experience on unique, technically challenging projects translates into something every architect values: fewer surprises and more certainty. They’ve built expertise coordinating early with suppliers, GC’s, fabricators and installers refining systems through code review, and solving problems during construction.
Here’s what you get with Martin/Martin as your structural partner:
Real-world timber experience.
They’ve designed it, detailed it, and shepherded it through construction. They know what works, what doesn’t, and what to flag to keep timber in your project.
Fluency across systems.
CLT, glulam, hybrid steel-timber systems, ductile seismic links, they speak the language of materials, performance, and code while maintaining your design intent.
Supplier-connected.
They’ve worked with SmartLam North America™ , Timberlab , Nordic Structures , Mercer Mass Timber, Carpentry Plus, Inc. , Lam-Wood Systems, Inc. and international suppliers like binderholz group . That means they’re not guessing at what’s buildable, they’re coordinating with the teams that make these projects successful.
Architect-aligned.
They get what you’re trying to do. The beauty. The clarity. The grid. The clean ceiling. And they know how to preserve that while still delivering performance, cost control, and constructability.
Want to see what smart timber engineering looks like?
Connect with Kirby Beegles, PE, SE on LinkedIn, he’s the one you want in your corner when things get complex.
Even better? Meet Kirby and the Martin/Martin, Inc team in person at the Mass Timber Group Summit. You’ll get to see how they think, how they collaborate, and why they’re one of the most trusted names in timber engineering.