Mass Timber Market Updates - August 2025 - Week ThirtyOne

Global innovations in mass timber construction are taking centre stage as sustainable building practices continue to evolve worldwide. Our latest roundup takes you on a journey across three continents to explore cutting-edge projects that demonstrate the versatility, beauty, and environmental benefits of engineered wood construction.

We start in Canada, where the Carmen Corbasso Community Centre has unveiled a stunning renovation featuring an impressive glulam structure spanning its swimming pool—creating one of the most visually striking indoor aquatic facilities you'll see anywhere. Moving to London, we explore the London School of Economics' ambitious £100 million retrofit project that will become the UK's largest passive house retrofit building, incorporating cross-laminated timber to breathe new life into a 1950s structure while significantly expanding its footprint and sustainability credentials.

Berlin's Dockyard offers another perspective on timber innovation with its seven-story hybrid construction featuring sustainable beech trusswark and thoughtful design elements that reflect its waterfront setting. Not to be outdone, Amsterdam's DPG Media headquarters stands as one of Europe's leading timber-hybrid office buildings, incorporating 7,000 cubic metres of CLT while housing complex media production facilities. For residential applications, we examine Germany's TricBric project using innovative dowel-jointed timber blocks, while perhaps most significantly, we share groundbreaking news from Canada where developer Neutral has achieved a critical three-hour fire test for mass timber assemblies—potentially revolutionising how we approach building codes and regulations for tall timber structures.

The mass timber revolution continues to gain momentum, with these projects demonstrating how engineered wood can meet diverse architectural challenges while offering substantial environmental benefits. Don't forget to enter the Rothoblast "Build the Impossible" competition before year-end, and secure your tickets for the 10th anniversary International Mass Timber Conference in Portland next year. Subscribe now to stay updated on the latest developments as we track the growth of sustainable construction worldwide.

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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,

(00:25):
the all-disputed heavyweightpodcast in the world the Fast
Timber Construction Podcast.
And now here's Paul Cramer,your host, voice of the octagon.

(01:01):
Don't forget the rothoblastbuild the impossible.
Competition is on now.
Get your entries in.
It is not too long before theend of the year and that
competition will close and go tojudges for finalization and
then announcement of the winner.
Don't forget, the internationalmass cinema conference is
coming up in portland, oregonnext year.
It's the 10th year anniversary,2016 to 2026.

(01:23):
Get your tickets.
It'll be an amazing event.
There'll be specialcelebrations and presentations
happening, I'm sure, this nextyear.
Let's have a look at what'smaking news around the world
this week in mass timberconstruction land and to Ontario
, canada now.
And the Carmen CorbassoCommunity Centre has opened the

(01:44):
doors to its newly renovated andexpanded recreation facility,
which introduces mass timberinto the fitness centre over the
aerobics studio and over theswimming pool.
This expanded from the existingbuilding and the gymnasium
complex.
Diamond Schmidt has designedthe centre's 45,000 square foot

(02:05):
expansion with the aim to createa connection between the old
and the new.
Through the form andmateriality.
The work adds to the previouseditions completed in the year
2000 and I must say the glulamstructure sitting over the top
of the pool is absolutelyimpressive.
It's probably one of the bestindoor swimming pools I have

(02:25):
ever seen.
Please do go check out thepictures on our linkedin feed.
And to the uk now.
And the 100 million poundcontract awarded to mclaren
constructions includes theretrofit and expansion of the
existing 1950s building in thelondon school of economics and
political science.
Scheduled for completion in2027.
The project is expected to bethe largest passive house

(02:48):
retrofit building in the UK.
Works to include the extensionby David Chipperfield Architects
.
The building, located at 35Lincolns in Field, will become
the home to the Global Housingand Institute for Africa.
Additional space for other LSEdevelopments and departments
will be also included.

(03:09):
The building's originalmaterials will be salvaged and
plans for the top three floors,a rooftop plant area and closure
will be demolished and replacedby cross-laminated timber
extension, increasing the sizeof the building from 9,856
square meters to 11,848 squaremeters.

(03:29):
There is much to like about thisparticular building.
It has reclaimed materials,passive house mass timber and
it's using an existing buildingin the center of the town area
to basically regenerate thebuilding, reuse, adaptive reuse.
Congratulations to everybody onthe team.

(03:50):
An impressive project.
I look forward to reporting onit throughout the year.
And construction of officebuilding with underground car
park using sustainable hybridtimber technology.
Dockyard is a modern seven-storybuilding complex with an
underground car park that wasbuilt in Berlin using
sustainable climate andresource-friendly timber hybrid
construction methods.

(04:10):
The dockyard project comprisesa square and rectangular
building between which is aglazed linking structure with
visible truss work made fromsustainable construction beach.
Two bottom stories are linkingstructure functions as an open,
pillar-free passageway.
The ceiling of the passagewayis fitted with mirrored

(04:31):
stainless steel sheets with onyxblack, which create flowing
reflections and attribute to thelocation the assembly directly
on the water.
The main facades of the twomain buildings are
glass-utilized facades withtwo-story grid and cornices and
pillar strips.
The south facades, overlookingthe spree, are articulated by

(04:54):
project bay windows that areoffset by two floors and support
balconies.
The glass facades on the westand north and east have recessed
loggins which are effectivelyoffsets at every floor to make a
dynamic shape.
It's an impressive building.
If you want to go and have alook at it, please do.
It is featured on our LinkedInpage and has an amazing solar

(05:16):
panel rooftop, community sharedgarden and facilities area.
So check that out.
It's a really truly impressiveproject.
And to holland now.
And amsterdam.
And medivac serves as the dpgmedia's headquarters in
amsterdam, designed by team varchitects, it's one of europe's
leading hybrid timber officebuildings serving as the

(05:38):
headquarters for DPG Media, andthe 46,000 square meter building
accommodates editorial offices,recording studios with multiple
Dutch newspapers, magazines,radio stations inhabiting.
The project was developed incollaboration with a real estate
developer.
The building uses hybridstructural approach, applying
timber where possible and alsosteel and concrete.

(06:02):
Great to see the trio oftechnologies coming together,
with 7,000 cubic meters ofcross-laminated timber sourced
from Austrian production forestsand using beamed columns and
floor plates to createprefabricated elements and,
obviously, create the buildingon site.
Congratulations to the team.
There's a finished pictures ofthe building the facade only.

(06:24):
You can see them on ourLinkedIn feed or go and do your
own research and look at DPG'smedia headquarters in Amsterdam,
and the local startup usingdowel-jointed timber blocks
called Trickbrick has usedhybrid timber concrete
construction in southwestGermany as an eco-friendly

(06:46):
public housing project, usingprefabricated timber blocks to
slot together with dowels ratherthan mortar and glue.
Concrete is used for thefoundations and lower sections
of the wall, as well as theapartment dividing walls to

(07:08):
improve sound insulation andfire resistance.
Around 2,000 bricks are beinginstalled on the site, with
construction managed by a localcontractor.
If you want to have a look atthese incredible little trick
bricks, you can actually go andsee it.
It's T-R-I-Q-B-R-I-Q and youcan have a look at the images

(07:28):
and a link to the article on ourLinkedIn feed and some
impressive news coming out ofCanada.
Neutral, the property developer, pushes the results of its
successful, first-of-a-kindthree-hour fire test for its
hybrid mass timber buildingassembly with standard
connections for free use byindustry practitioners.

(07:48):
The results help solidify thefuture of building with mass
timber and contribute to largertrends towards sustainable
construction.
Neutral is the real estatedevelopment company focused on
creating sustainable and healthymixed-use communities,
implementing mass timber as asustainable alternative to
conventional construction.
If you want to have a look atthe impressive image of the fire

(08:10):
system and then head to theLinkedIn page for us and you can
actually have a look at thearticle that links you back to
the details around thisthree-hour fire rating
performance equivalency testdone under the IBC construction
type 1a tests, and theexpectations for the results and
how it might apply to projectsin the future.

(08:33):
That's it, folks.
That's all we've got time forthis week in Mass Timber
Construction Land.
We hope you've had an amazingweek.
We look forward to bringing youmore news next week as Mass
Timber grows around the world.
This is Paul Kramer signing off.
Good morning, good afternoon orgood evening.
Wherever you are in the worldtoday, have a great week.
See you next week.
Don't forget to hit subscribe.
Thank you, bye.