Imagine a construction site where the rhythm of progress is dictated not by weather delays or labor bottlenecks, but by the precision of a manufacturing line. “Manufacturing is like a bullet through a gun. You can take a year to line that shot up, but once you pull the trigger, it’s going all the way through,” Fouad Khalil observes. This analogy is more than poetic—it challenges the status quo of how buildings come together and calls for a fundamental rethink of project delivery.

Industrialized construction (IC) is not about swapping materials or adding software; it is a wholesale reconfiguration of process, responsibility, and risk. As Khalil and Potts discuss, adopting manufacturing principles—lean planning, modular assemblies, and digital coordination—offers a rare opportunity: to replace chronic unpredictability with measurable reliability. But this shift requires more than technical upgrades; it demands a new discipline that rewards foresight, integration, and a willingness to question every inherited assumption about how buildings are made.

Revolutionizing Construction: The Industrialized Approach  

A sector long defined by fragmented workflows now faces a turning point as industrialized construction transforms project delivery. IC represents a systematic adoption of manufacturing principles—lean construction, pull planning, and modular assemblies—that deliver measurable gains in productivity and predictability.

Khalil frames IC as an “umbrella term” encompassing a spectrum of manufacturing-derived practices. “These practices range everything from lean construction and pull planning to panelized volumetric and modular assemblies.” The objective is not simply to introduce new tools, but to restructure the entire construction process for greater reliability and efficiency. This shift requires a fundamental rethinking of roles, workflows, and expectations across the project lifecycle.

Mass Timber: Precision as Process  

Few materials illustrate the potential of industrialized construction as clearly as mass timber, whose engineered consistency is reshaping both design and delivery. Unlike conventional lumber, mass timber’s dimensional accuracy enables direct integration of features during fabrication, reducing the need for on-site modification.

“Mass timber is a processed material. It’s highly engineered and dimensionally very accurate,” Khalil notes. This precision translates into faster assembly, reduced waste, and lower labor costs—outcomes that align directly with IC’s core goals. The material’s performance characteristics, from fire resistance to structural capacity, further reinforce its suitability for projects seeking both speed and sustainability. As mass timber adoption grows, it demonstrates how material innovation and process optimization can reinforce one another.

Labor Shortages: A Catalyst for Change  

Rising project demand and a shrinking skilled workforce have accelerated the adoption of industrialized methods. The demographic shift—exacerbated by the post-2008 contraction—has left a persistent gap in available labor, particularly among experienced trades.

“We’re still in the post-2008 era where we saw a reduction in the amount of available labor,” Khalil observes. Rather than stalling progress, this constraint is driving a reallocation of labor: skilled workers focus on high-value fabrication in controlled environments, while installation on-site becomes more standardized and less dependent on specialized expertise. Centralizing the production of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing assemblies addresses labor shortages while improving quality control and project timelines.

Planning for Success: The Pre-Construction Imperative  

A single misstep in early planning can unravel the efficiencies promised by industrialized construction. The need for rigorous pre-construction coordination is heightened when working with prefabricated systems and just-in-time delivery models.

“If you’re in mass timber, by definition you’re working with industrialized construction,” Khalil asserts, underscoring the necessity of advanced planning. Building Information Modeling (BIM) becomes indispensable—not just for design, but for orchestrating scheduling, staging, and logistics. Overlooking details such as crane access or delivery sequencing can quickly erode the gains of off-site fabrication. The pre-construction phase is not a box to check but a critical determinant of project success.

Navigating the On-Site Transition: Key Strategies  

The transition from factory floor to jobsite introduces a new set of challenges, where coordination and timing are paramount. Even the most precisely fabricated components can falter without synchronized execution among all trades.

“You’ve got to have all of the affected trades together at the table working in an integrated way,” Khalil advises. Pre-construction conferences and clear delineation of responsibilities are essential to prevent miscommunication and rework. Moisture mitigation, site logistics, and real-time problem-solving require a level of collaboration that traditional project delivery often lacks. The success of industrialized construction on-site depends on this integrated approach, where every participant understands both the sequence and the stakes.

The Future of Industrialized Construction: Opportunities Ahead  

As industrialized construction gains traction, the competitive landscape is shifting toward those who can internalize and scale these new processes. The firms best positioned to benefit are those willing to invest in both technology and workforce development.

“Companies that self-perform any of these key activities on-site will be the biggest beneficiaries,” Khalil predicts. Specialized trades are beginning to develop their own industrialized divisions, blurring the lines between design, fabrication, and installation. This evolution is not merely about efficiency; it is about creating new business models that deliver greater value and resilience in a volatile market. The next phase will likely see deeper integration between digital design and physical production, with early adopters setting the pace.

A Holistic Vision: Bridging Gaps in Knowledge  

The complexity of industrialized construction demands a workforce fluent in both the language of design and the realities of manufacturing. Khalil’s forthcoming book aims to address this gap, offering a comprehensive overview for those entering the field.

“I want to give an overview of the universe that I see and how I see it working holistically,” he explains. By demystifying the interconnected processes of design, fabrication, and assembly, Khalil hopes to equip the next generation with the tools to ask more incisive questions and drive meaningful innovation. This educational effort is not about simplifying the field, but about making its complexity accessible and actionable.

Conclusion: Integration as Imperative  

Industrialized construction is not about novelty—it’s about discipline, foresight, and integration. As Fouad Khalil emphasizes, success comes when digital planning, precision manufacturing, and on-site execution operate as one system. Mass timber demonstrates what’s possible when materials and methods align: faster builds, fewer labor constraints, and more reliable outcomes. For AEC and developer teams, the takeaway is clear—industrialized construction isn’t the future, it’s the new standard.

📥 Download the Industrialized Construction Housing Series to dive deeper into frameworks, case studies, and practical tools you can apply to your own projects

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If you were told that a building material could be manufactured at the pace of a car assembly line—one structural panel every 65 seconds—would you believe it?

For decades, the construction industry has accepted the slow churn of concrete pours and steel fabrication as the cost of doing business. Yet, a quiet revolution is underway, challenging not just what we build with, but how we conceive of the entire construction process.

This is not a story about novelty or greenwashing. It’s about a fundamental rethinking of supply chains, project delivery, and the relationship between forests and cities. As Michaela Harms puts it, “We can always be meeting the demand. We have high capacity.” The rise of mass timber, and the modular, productized approach behind it, is forcing architects, engineers, and builders to reconsider what’s possible when efficiency, sustainability, and scale are engineered into the DNA of a material from the forest floor to the jobsite.

The Rise of Mass Timber: A New Era in Construction

Few materials have disrupted the construction landscape as rapidly as mass timber, yet its ascent is rooted in more than environmental ambition or visual appeal. The adoption of engineered wood signals a fundamental rethinking of how buildings are conceived, assembled, and valued.

Michaela Harms , VP of Mass Timber at Sterling Structural , embodies this shift—her trajectory from sustainable building research in Finland to overseeing the world’s largest cross-laminated timber (CLT) operation illustrates the material’s global momentum.

“I really focused on sustainable building... and really a lot of focus on wood,” Michaela recalls, reflecting on her formative years in Finland, a country with a deep tradition of mass timber innovation. This foundation has informed her leadership at Sterling Structural, where she has guided the company’s rapid expansion to meet surging demand. Mass timber’s rise is not just a matter of substituting materials; it is reshaping the industry’s operational and cultural DNA.

Action Step: If you’re new to mass timber, treat it not as a boutique material but as a mainstream building system. Look for partners who can show both successful projects and domestic production capacity.

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Efficiency Meets Demand: The CLT Approach

While construction projects are often plagued by delays and inefficiencies, Sterling Structural’s CLT production model has upended expectations for speed and precision. The facility’s ability to produce a CLT panel every 65 seconds is not a marketing boast but a logistical reality, achieved through tightly integrated manufacturing processes.

“We can always be meeting the demand. We have high capacity.” — Michaela Harms

This production efficiency enables not only rapid project delivery but also significant reductions in material waste and labor hours. By standardizing repeatable elements, Sterling has made mass timber a practical choice for projects with aggressive schedules—an achievement that directly addresses one of the industry’s most persistent pain points.

Action Steps:

• Developers → Ask manufacturers about throughput capacity and delivery reliability.
• Engineers → Design repeatable modules/grids to reduce CNC/fabrication time.
• GCs → Don’t assume smaller panels mean slower installs—installers report the opposite once rhythm sets in.

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Overcoming Skepticism: The Case for High Volume Production

Doubts about the feasibility of high-speed, high-volume CLT production were widespread when Sterling Structural first proposed its manufacturing targets. Industry partners, including equipment suppliers, questioned the rationale for such capacity.

Michaela recounts, “When we contacted Minda about making our presses... they were like, ‘Why? No one would ever need that much CLT.’”

Sterling’s results have since provided a clear answer. By demonstrating that mass timber can be produced at industrial scale, the company has lowered barriers to entry for developers and contractors, driving down costs and expanding the material’s reach.

Action Step: Ask suppliers about their production capacity and delivery reliability—how many panels they can produce in a given time and how they ensure trucks arrive on schedule.

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The Power of Partnerships: Building a Collaborative Ecosystem

The complexity of mass timber projects demands a level of coordination that extends beyond the factory floor. Success hinges on early and sustained partnerships among general contractors, material suppliers, and design teams.

“Partnerships are really what I’m learning are everything in this industry.” — Michaela Harms

Sterling Structural’s collaborative model has enabled faster decision-making and more agile problem-solving, reducing friction across the supply chain. By aligning stakeholders from the outset, the company has created a feedback loop that accelerates innovation and ensures constructability.

Action Steps:

• Involve installers when evaluating panel sizes and crane logistics—their experience confirms smaller, repeatable panels can speed up schedules.
• Confirm glulam and connector lead times before finalizing schedules.
• Favor turnkey approaches when possible—GCs respond better to bundled solutions.

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Designing for the Future: Embracing Hybrid Structures

As mass timber gains traction, project teams are increasingly exploring hybrid systems that combine timber with steel to optimize performance and cost.

“If we’re really talking about optimization... sometimes mass timber doesn’t make sense in certain spots.” — Michaela Harms

Hybrid structures allow designers to leverage the strengths of each material, tailoring solutions to the unique demands of each project. This flexibility broadens the applicability of mass timber, making it viable for a wider range of building types and performance criteria.

Action Steps:

• Use CLT where speed and repeatability matter most (e.g., decking).
• Where wide-flange steel outperforms glulam on cost or span, pair steel with CLT instead of forcing an all-timber solution.
• Treat hybridization as a mainstream strategy, not a fallback.

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A Sustainable Future: Connecting Forests to Markets

The viability of mass timber is inseparable from the health of the forests and economies that produce it.

“Markets are what incentivize the management of forests.” — Michaela Harms

For Michaela, that means pushing designers beyond a single-species mindset. “Spruce Pine Fir South and Eastern Hemlock may have lower design values, but all of them work if you design for them,” she explains. “If you design your entire building for Douglas Fir panels, you’re locking out other regions—and their mills—from participation.”

The implications are both environmental and economic. Without demand, local sawmills close—even in the middle of a timber boom. By specifying for abundant regional species, architects and engineers can not only reduce procurement risk but also keep forest economies alive. “Maybe you need to design your grid for a spruce pine south panel first,” Michaela notes. “You can optimize later, but start with what’s available in your region.”

Action Steps:

• Ask suppliers which species and sawmills they source from.
• Design grids that accommodate multiple species (SPF-S, eastern hemlock, SYP).
• Treat regional sourcing as both a sustainability practice and a way to strengthen local economies while reducing supply risk.

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Conclusion

The conversation with Michaela Harms makes one thing clear: mass timber’s future isn’t about chasing novelty—it’s about scaling smarter. From Sterling’s ability to roll out a panel every 65 seconds, to installers discovering that smaller, repeatable panels actually speed schedules, to the industry’s embrace of hybrids and regionally sourced species, the throughline is optimization. Efficiency, collaboration, and local markets aren’t side notes—they’re the foundation of making timber mainstream.

Michaela’s perspective bridges the forest, the factory, and the jobsite. She shows that capacity matters as much as design, partnerships matter as much as product, and sourcing decisions ripple far beyond procurement. For architects, engineers, and developers, the lesson is simple: the more we align design choices with manufacturing realities and forest health, the faster mass timber can scale into everyday construction.

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👉 If you want to go deeper, we pulled Michaela’s top 10 lessons into a quick-reference tool for AEC and developer teams.

‍Download The Mass Timber Decision Guide to see the proven strategies Sterling Structural and Michaela use to deliver faster, smarter projects.

What if the real breakthrough in industrial construction isn’t about carbon at all?

For decades, developers have tolerated persistent headaches—inefficient insulation, fire hazards, and inflexible layouts—accepting them as the cost of building with steel and concrete. But a new material is quietly rewriting those rules, not by chasing green credentials, but by addressing the design failures owners are most frustrated by.

As Kyle Freres puts it, “If you think the case for mass timber industrial buildings is just carbon, you’re missing the real opportunity.” This isn’t about making warehouses prettier or ticking a sustainability box. It’s about rethinking the fundamentals: faster builds, smarter grids, and structures that perform better for both people and the bottom line. The story of Freres Wood’s 58,000-square-foot mass timber warehouse isn’t just a case study—it signals that the industrial sector’s old assumptions are up for revision.

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Rethinking Industrial Design: The Case for Mass Timber

When industrial buildings fall short of operational needs, the issue often runs deeper than material choice—it’s embedded in the logic of their design. As Kyle Freres, and John Bradford - Director of Engineering at Crow Engineering Inc., argue, mass timber is not simply a lower-carbon substitute for steel or concrete; it directly addresses the inefficiencies and inflexibilities of conventional industrial construction.

“If you think the case for mass timber industrial buildings is just carbon, you're missing the real opportunity,” Freres contends. This reframing moves the discussion beyond environmental metrics, prompting a closer look at how mass timber can resolve longstanding issues of speed, adaptability, and lifecycle performance in industrial projects.

By leveraging mass timber, project teams can achieve faster construction, greater design flexibility, and improved long-term value—outcomes that steel and concrete often struggle to deliver. As the industry confronts the constraints of legacy systems, mass timber offers a practical, systems-level alternative.

A Case Study in Material Disruption: Building a Mass Timber Warehouse

Few projects illustrate this shift as clearly as Freres Engineered Wood’s 58,000-square-foot mass timber warehouse, conceived not as a showcase, but as a proof of concept for the broader market. The facility’s performance and cost profile directly challenge the assumption that mass timber is a premium option reserved for signature projects.

“We wanted to provide a case study to demonstrate that it can be done,” Freres explains. The project’s financials revealed that mass timber can compete head-to-head with pre-engineered metal buildings and concrete tilt-ups, dispelling the notion that sustainability must come at a premium.

Most notable was the construction timeline: the team completed the structure three months faster than comparable projects. Freres notes, “We shaved three months off of this project.” In a sector where every week of delay carries real financial consequences, this acceleration is a decisive advantage.

This case study sets the stage for a deeper examination of the technical and regulatory hurdles that mass timber must clear to become a mainstream industrial solution.

Technical Hurdles and Hidden Advantages: Mass Timber’s Performance Profile

Concerns about fire safety, insulation, and structural reliability have long shaped the industrial sector’s material choices. Yet, mass timber’s performance in these domains is not only competitive—it often surpasses expectations.

“Our mass ply product has been tested for fire rating just like any other mass timber product,” Freres notes, citing successful two-hour fire rating tests. This level of protection directly addresses regulatory and insurance concerns, positioning mass timber as a robust alternative to steel and concrete.

Thermal performance is another area where mass timber distinguishes itself. Bradford points out, “If you have four inches or more in thickness on that panel wall, we can show that it meets the mass criterion for energy.” Unlike metal buildings, which often require complex insulation assemblies, mass timber panels inherently provide both structure and thermal mass, streamlining the envelope and reducing operational energy demands.

These technical attributes not only satisfy code requirements but also open new possibilities for industrial design—enabling simpler, more integrated building systems. As regulatory frameworks evolve, these advantages are likely to become even more pronounced.

Market Dynamics: Economic and Regulatory Pressures Favoring Mass Timber

Rising tariffs, volatile supply chains, and tightening sustainability mandates are converging to reshape material selection in industrial construction. For many developers, these pressures are no longer abstract—they are immediate constraints on project feasibility.

“People are looking local as a way to potentially hedge these tariff issues,” Freres observes. Sourcing mass timber domestically not only insulates projects from global price shocks but also aligns with emerging ESG requirements by reducing transportation emissions.

Bradford adds, “There’s been a lot of attention on residential and office applications, but industrial warehouses are built in much larger square footage each year.” This scale represents a significant opportunity: as industrial clients seek to decarbonize their portfolios, mass timber offers a credible path to both compliance and differentiation.

The interplay of economic and regulatory forces is accelerating the adoption of mass timber, but realizing its full potential requires a rethinking of project delivery and design collaboration.

Integrated Delivery: Collaboration as a Catalyst for Innovation

The Freres-Bradford partnership demonstrates that material innovation is inseparable from process innovation. Their approach—prioritizing simplicity, reducing waste, and streamlining assembly—translates directly into improved project outcomes.

“Can we really lean into mass timber? Can we trust in the process?” Freres recalls from early design meetings. The team’s commitment to minimizing the number of unique components and connections led to faster, more reliable construction.

Bradford elaborates, “We looked at different options of what we can do.” Through iterative engineering, they arrived at a post-and-beam system that balanced efficiency with structural rigor. This collaborative, systems-based approach is essential for unlocking the full value of mass timber—reducing risk, controlling costs, and delivering higher-performing buildings.

The lessons from this project extend beyond material choice, offering a template for integrated project delivery in a sector that has long been fragmented.

Beyond Structure: The Human and Spatial Impact of Mass Timber

While technical and economic factors often dominate the conversation, the experiential qualities of mass timber are impossible to ignore. The warehouse’s occupants and visitors consistently remark on the difference that natural materials and daylighting make in the industrial context.

Freres notes, “Every tour we have given of the warehouse, people walk through the door and gasp in astonishment.” The exposed timber, combined with generous glazing, transforms the warehouse from a utilitarian shell into a space that supports well-being and productivity.

This shift in atmosphere is not incidental—it is a direct result of design decisions enabled by mass timber. In an industry where worker retention and satisfaction are increasingly important, these qualitative benefits carry tangible value.

Environmental Accounting: Mass Timber’s Role in Sustainable Construction

The environmental case for mass timber extends from forest management to end-of-life scenarios. Freres and Bradford emphasize the importance of traceability and resource efficiency throughout the supply chain.

“We take the sustainability aspect of our product very seriously,” Freres asserts, describing a vertically integrated process that ensures responsible sourcing and manufacturing. The use of veneer in mass plywood panels achieves over 70% recovery from each log, maximizing material yield and minimizing waste.

This level of resource efficiency, combined with carbon sequestration in the finished product, positions mass timber as a credible solution for developers facing stringent ESG criteria. The ability to document and verify these impacts is increasingly a prerequisite for participation in major projects.

As regulatory and market expectations continue to evolve, the environmental performance of mass timber will only become more central to its adoption.

Conclusion: Toward a New Industrial Paradigm

The trajectory of mass timber in industrial construction is not defined by novelty, but by its capacity to resolve persistent tensions—between speed and quality, cost and sustainability, efficiency and experience. The Freres warehouse project demonstrates that when technical rigor, collaborative delivery, and environmental stewardship converge, mass timber is not an outlier but a logical next step.

For architects, engineers, and builders, the challenge is no longer whether mass timber can compete, but how to integrate its unique properties into the next generation of industrial spaces. The path forward is not about following trends, but about recalibrating the fundamentals of industrial design to meet the demands of a changing market and a changing planet.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How did the construction timeline for the Freres mass timber warehouse compare to conventional industrial projects? The team delivered the mass timber warehouse three months ahead of comparable steel or concrete projects, offering a notable schedule advantage.

What specific fire safety benchmarks did the mass timber system achieve in this project? The mass ply product used in the warehouse was tested and achieved a two-hour fire rating, meeting key regulatory and insurance requirements.

How did mass timber impact the building’s thermal performance and envelope design? With panel walls four inches or thicker, the mass timber system met the mass criterion for energy, allowing for a streamlined envelope and reducing the need for complex insulation.

What procurement or supply chain advantages were realized by sourcing mass timber domestically? Sourcing mass timber locally helped shield the project from global tariff volatility and supported compliance with ESG requirements by reducing transportation emissions.

How did the design and assembly process differ from traditional industrial construction methods? The project team minimized unique components and connections, using a post-and-beam system that enabled faster, more reliable assembly and reduced construction risk.

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What if the celebrated sustainability of your mass timber project is built on an incomplete carbon ledger? If you’re in a rush to use mass timber purely as a climate solution, you could be overlooking a critical detail: only about 35% of a harvested tree ends up in the building. The rest—bark, branches, roots—rarely factors into standard carbon accounting, even though its fate can dramatically alter a project’s true environmental impact. So, how do you get the whole picture?

As Varun Kohli puts it, “that [material is] rarely tracked in typical LCA models. But that carbon matters.” For architects, engineers, and developers committed to rigorous sustainability, understanding where biogenic carbon hides—and how to account for it—has become a new frontier in responsible design.

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Carbon & Mass Timber

Did you know that most LCAs for mass timber often omit a substantial portion of the carbon emissions? While mass timber is widely celebrated for its environmental benefits, only about 35% of each harvested tree ends up in structural use; the rest—bark, branches, and roots—typically escapes both construction and carbon accounting. This can lead to a misunderstanding of the true carbon accounting of mass timber projects.

Varun Kohli, Director of Sustainability at Corgan, underscores the significance of this gap: “It’s often left behind or burned, releasing carbon that’s rarely tracked in typical LCA models. But that carbon matters.” For practitioners committed to rigorous sustainability, perhaps a more comprehensive approach is needed.

Why is carbon accounting for mass timber in the spotlight?

A single report from the World Resources Institute (WRI) set off a chain reaction within the sustainability community, exposing blind spots in conventional mass timber embodied carbon calculations.

Kohli recalls, “That report basically pointed out the fact that our industry might have been ignoring a portion of the embodied carbon or carbon emissions calculations, mostly associated with the forestry practices.” This realization shifted the Corgan Team’s focus toward slash management—the fate of the non-structural parts of the tree—and its substantial role in a project’s carbon profile. By scrutinizing these overlooked emissions, the team identified a critical variable that can account for up to a quarter of a tree’s total carbon.

The Birth of the Mass Timber Carbon Calculator

Recognizing the need for actionable data, Corgan’s research evolved from a white paper into a practical digital tool: the Mass Timber Carbon Calculator. This resource enables design teams to quantify the biogenic carbon impact of their projects with far greater specificity, incorporating variables such as building size, wood species, and transportation distances.

Kohli explains, “You can pick the size of your building, the square footage, the number of floors, and tell the tool whether you’re using both beams and columns or just one component.” This granularity allows users to see how each design decision influences the project’s carbon footprint.

The calculator transforms carbon accounting from a static report into an interactive design parameter, supporting more informed material sourcing and project planning. By making carbon impacts visible early in the process, it encourages teams to weigh environmental consequences alongside structural and economic considerations.

Understanding Slash Management Practices

The carbon fate of mass timber hinges not just on what is built, but on what is left behind. Slash management—whether through burning, masticating, or leaving material to decompose—directly affects the amount and timing of carbon released back into the atmosphere.

Kohli notes, “Up to 25% of a tree’s carbon is tied to how its leftover parts are handled.” For example, burning slash results in immediate carbon emissions, while leaving it on the forest floor can allow for partial sequestration or slower release. This nuance is often absent from standard LCA models, yet it is pivotal for teams seeking to minimize embodied carbon.

By integrating slash management scenarios into the calculator, the tool equips architects and engineers to ask more pointed questions of their suppliers and to specify timber with a clearer understanding of its full carbon story.

A Win-Win Proposition: Sustainability Meets Cost Efficiency

The implications of the calculator extend beyond environmental stewardship; they also intersect with project economics. By visualizing the impacts of sourcing decisions—things like slash management practices, carbon metrics, and even transportation distances—teams can identify opportunities for both emissions reduction and budget optimization.

Kohli observes, “If you’re transporting it closer to where the project is, you might also be saving cost.” The tool’s ability to map sourcing options against both carbon and other metrics enables a more holistic evaluation of project trade-offs. This dual lens strengthens the business case for sustainable choices, aligning environmental and economic objectives in project delivery.

Designing for the Future

The development and deployment of the Mass Timber Carbon Calculator highlight the necessity of industry-wide collaboration. Kohli stresses, “We’re trying to make it so visual and easy for you to assess that from day one when you’re thinking about mass timber.” By making the tool open and inviting feedback, Corgan aims to foster a shared platform for advancing best practices.

“We’re honest that we share what we know. At the end of the day, I still want to go back to my original thought of integrating sustainability and design.” This openness is not just a matter of transparency; it is a strategy for accelerating collective progress. Continuous refinement, informed by real-world use and peer input, is essential for keeping pace with the evolving demands of sustainable design.

The Future of the Carbon Calculator and Industry Standards

With regulatory frameworks tightening around embodied carbon, tools like the Mass Timber Carbon Calculator are becoming indispensable for compliance and leadership alike. Kohli notes, “We’re hearing about that coming in New York. The UK is gearing up towards something like that as well.” The tool’s adaptability positions it to support teams as standards shift and expectations rise.

Future iterations are already in development, aiming to expand the calculator’s capabilities and further embed sustainability into the design workflow. Kohli cautions, “If you don’t put your first foot forward correctly, then you’re just kind of fixing that right along the design process.” Early, accurate carbon accounting is no longer optional—it is foundational.

The Mass Timber Carbon Calculator marks a shift from aspirational sustainability to accountable practice. By illuminating the full carbon cycle of mass timber, it enables the industry to move beyond partial narratives and toward genuinely responsible building. As the sector confronts the realities of climate impact, such tools will be central to reconciling design ambition with environmental necessity.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How does the Mass Timber Carbon Calculator differ from standard LCA tools currently used in the industry?  The calculator uniquely incorporates emissions from slash management—the fate of non-structural tree parts—offering a more complete picture of biogenic carbon than most LCA models, which often overlook these factors.
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2. What specific variables can users adjust within the Mass Timber Carbon Calculator to reflect their project conditions?  Users can input building size, square footage, number of floors, wood species, transportation distances, and specify which timber components (beams, columns, or both) are being used.
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3. Why is slash management considered a critical variable in mass timber’s carbon profile?  How leftover materials like bark, branches, and roots are handled after harvest can determine up to 25% of a tree’s total carbon impact, directly influencing the amount and timing of carbon released.
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4. How does the calculator help teams balance sustainability goals with project costs?  By mapping both carbon and other impacts of sourcing decisions—such as transportation distances—the tool helps teams identify options that can reduce emissions and potentially lower expenses.
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5. What approach is Corgan taking to ensure the calculator remains relevant as industry standards evolve?  Corgan is keeping the tool open to feedback and ongoing improvement, allowing it to adapt as new regulatory requirements and best practices emerge.

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