Washington D.C. First Commercial Building Made of Mass Timber Under Construction

The first commercial office building made of mass timber in Washington D.C. will be leased to the American Trucking Association (ATA). The 80 M Street project was commissioned by Columbia Property Trust and designed by architecture firm Hickok Cole. The project will add 105,000 square feet and two new floors to an existing seven-story office building at 80 M Street. The ATA has leased 60,000 square feet of the space for its new headquarters. Cross-laminated timber giant Katerra will provide and install all of the glulam and CLT needed for the project. The building will use nearly 1,400 tons of mass timber. Construction is scheduled to be complete sometime in 2022. In speaking about the project, architects from Hickok Cole said, “New innovations in glue, nail, and cross lamination products mean that timber can now be used in ‘heavy’ applications, resulting in shorter construction schedules, while providing safer and cleaner environments on site. Timber can also be easily prefabricated into panel or structural columns, which further condenses construction timelines and minimizes labor costs. Wood has a much higher strength-to-weight ratio than concrete or steel, and when detailed properly, actually performs better in fire testing. Furthermore, mass timber buildings have far greater thermal efficiency, which allows for major energy savings throughout its lifecycle.”