Mass Timber Construction Continues to Gain Ground in Michigan

Nationwide, demand for mass timber has tripled between 2018 and 2019. For example, Michigan businesses searching for ways to reduce their carbon footprint are looking at mass timber panels instead of steel or concrete for their construction projects.

According to Canadian architect Michael Green, the term mass timber refers to multiple wood panels that are either nailed or glued and strong enough to replace concrete and steel, which Green says contributes to 8% of the greenhouse gas emissions coming from the building industry. Green concludes that mass timber is more sustainable.

Sandra Lupien, the director of Mass Timber at Michigan State University, a research and educational group who promotes mass timber usage in the Great Lakes Region, points out that since a little more than cubic yard of wood can store 1-ton of carbon dioxide, mass timber is a way to reduce our footprint.

Michigan State University last year opened one of the first mass timber buildings in the state. Two more mass timber projects are underway in the state, one at a K-12 school in Kalamazoo and another in Cedarville, the Great Lake Boat, and Build School. Another 27 projects in Michigan on the drawing board plan to incorporate mass timber.

The largest hold up to these mass timber projects, besides funding, is that Michigan currently follows 2015 building codes, meaning that the state is two cycles behind the current thinking on mass timber and fire safety.