Mass Timber Market Updates - Apr 2025 - Week Fifteen

The sustainable construction revolution continues to gather momentum, with mass timber leading the charge toward a greener built environment. Fresh research from Edinburgh Napier University confirms what many in the industry have long championed – mass timber buildings produce 50% less carbon emissions than conventional construction methods, easily exceeding RIBA's 2025 targets for whole-life carbon performance.

Texas architecture firm Corrigan has stepped up with a game-changing sustainability calculator specifically designed for mass timber projects. This innovative tool helps architects accurately estimate biogenic carbon emissions, providing crucial data for environmentally conscious design decisions. Meanwhile, in Toronto, an ambitious new residential tower is set to demonstrate the remarkable efficiency of prefabricated timber construction. The 230 Royal York project will rise approximately 30 metres in a mere 90 days – a testament to how advanced timber engineering is transforming construction timelines.

The creative potential of engineered timber continues to evolve in spectacular ways. We revisit the stunning Shigeru Ban-designed Swatch headquarters with its 4,600 unique glulam elements forming a sinuous, organic structure that defies conventional expectations of timber architecture. Equally impressive is the floating groin vault ceiling created by University of Bath researchers using just four large CLT panels – showcasing how mass timber can achieve complex architectural forms previously considered impossible with wood. Don't forget to check our LinkedIn feed for images of these remarkable projects and stay tuned for next week's announcement about the Build the Impossible Rothoblast competition for 2025!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Ladies and gentlemen, we are live.
This is the moment you all havebeen waiting for.
It's time for the globalsensation, the one, the only,

(00:24):
the undisputed heavyweightpodcast in the world the Mass
Timber Construction Podcast.
And now here's Mark Ramblin,your host.

(00:48):
Good morning, good afternoon orgood evening wherever you are
in the world today, and welcometo another episode of the Mass
Timber Construction Podcast,where we update news of mass
timber projects around the world.
Firstly, an apology.
I got April fooled.
There was a project in Rotoruain New Zealand.
It was a faux project.

(01:08):
I got caught.
But thank you to the 300 pluspeople who liked the post on our
LinkedIn feed, and we really doappreciate the fact that we can
have a bit of humor and funalong the way as we report the
serious stuff like changing anindustry.
Also, don't forget, coming upvery, very soon is the Build the

(01:29):
Impossible Rothoblastcompetition.
We'll have some more news onthat next week.
I believe my good friend PeterLang will be updating me very
soon to announce what ishappening globally for that
competition, so keep your eyeout for that.
In the meantime, let's have alook at what's making news
around the world this week inWest Timber Construction Land

(01:50):
and a few years ago we had Kaifrom Bloomer Lehman on the
project talking about the DRMMproject, which was called the
Cambridge Central Mosque, byMark Barfield barfield
architects, and in thatparticular episode they talked
about these glulam tree-likestructures.
Well, there's a recent image ofthat project up on our linkedin

(02:14):
feed right now and an articleto go with it.
As the edinburgh napieruniversity plus drmm looked at
the quality of life, which wasan expert advisory group that
found that mass timber buildingsproduce an average of 50% less
embodied and in-use carbonemissions in industrial

(02:36):
equivalents to meet or exceedthe Royal Institute of British
Architects 2025 targets forembodied and whole life carbon.
So if you'd like to read thisreally lovely case study, please
head to our LinkedIn feed.
And Texas-based architecturefirm Corrigan has unveiled that
it's improving the accuracy ofcarbon accounting in mass timber

(02:57):
construction and have developeda sustainability calculator.
This particular mass timbercarbon calculator is designed to
help architects and designersestimate the biogenic carbon
emissions specific to theirtimber project.
There's two posts.
I've put a post of an articlethat has recently come up, but
I've also been contacteddirectly by Corrigan and they

(03:21):
have given me some specific textwhich is unique to us, part of
a media release and there's animage of the calculator.
So if you're interested inlooking at the biogenic carbon
calculations for mass timberprojects and you're an architect
or designer, head to Corrigan'swebsite or head to our LinkedIn
feed.
And an ambitious new timbertower in Toronto, canada, is due

(03:43):
to begin construction soon.
Thanks to its innovativeprefabricated wooden design
using mass timber, theresidential building named 230
Royal York is expected to risein a mere 90 days.
The project actually is thetallest timber tower residential
in Toronto.
We've got no exact word on howhigh it will be.

(04:04):
However, it's modestlyproportioned, low rise structure
with a height of approximately30 meters, which is about 100
feet, so it's not some crazysuper tall tower.
Structurally, it will featureconcrete core preliminary
consisting of sustainablyproduced mass timber such as
glulam and CLT consisting ofsustainably produced mass timber

(04:27):
such as glulam and CLT and it'spart of a prefabricated project
coming out of Intelligent City,which is actually quite
interesting because IntelligentCity have been very vocal for
many years.
It's great to see somethingcoming out of that particular
planet right now.
It's great to see that there'sthings progressing in Canada in
such a strong way.
Congratulations to the entireteam on 230 Royal York.

(04:47):
We will look forward to see ifyou hit your 90-day marker.
And we have spoken about theSugaroo Barn designed swatch
headquarters in Beale and weknow that Blue Lehman was also
on that project and you canlisten to Kai talking about that
particular project many yearsago on this podcast.
But there has been asustainable design network image

(05:11):
which shows the 4,600 uniqueglulam elements that constitute
the very snaky swatch-likebuilding.
If you're not familiar with it,head to our LinkedIn feed.
It's gaining significantattraction.
It has over 500 likes at themoment, 15 reposts, many, many
comments.
If you do want to have a lookat this impressive project,

(05:33):
please head to our LinkedIn feed.
At this impressive project,please head to our LinkedIn feed
.
One of the most unique thingsthat I have ever seen in my time
in this particular industry isa floating groin vault ceiling
that was created out of fourvery large CLT panels to create
this impressive roof structure.

(05:54):
The presentation of a quarterof the scale prototype
cross-laminated groin vaultfloor system, which is at the
University of Bath StructuresLab, is available now to have a
look at on our LinkedIn feed.
If you go and have a look atthe University of Bath LinkedIn
feed, you'll be able to actuallysee some of the projects there

(06:15):
or you can head to our LinkedInfeed and have a look at it.
It's an impressive project withsome curved CLT making a
growing vault ceiling Quiteimpressive.
Go and check it out and that'sit.
Folks.
That's all we've got time forthis week in Mass Timber
Construction Land.
I hope that you're keeping well.
Don't forget.
Next week we'll come back toyou with what the Rothobast

(06:35):
Build the Impossible competitionwill be for 2025.
We thank you for liking,commenting, sharing, reposting
any of our content.
Please keep sending it in to us.
Go and check out the amazingposts we have on our LinkedIn
feed.
We have a journal manuscriptthat's just been accepted and
will be published very soon.
So look out for that on theInternational Mass Timber

(06:57):
Construction Journal academicdivision of our global suite of
offerings.
And we'll catch you next timeon the podcast.
And it's good morning, goodevening or good afternoon.
Wherever you are in the worldtoday, have a great week.
This is Paul Kramer signing offon the Mass Timber Construction
Podcast.
Thank you.