Mass Timber Market Updates - December 2025 - Week Fifty

Headlines change fast, but this week’s timber stories carry real weight. We start with a personal moment that grounds the show, then move into a tour of breakthroughs and big bets shaping the future of low-carbon construction. From a landmark conference to a new connection system and skyline-defining projects, the conversation is all about making mass timber faster, stronger, and more visible.

We share updates on the International Mass Timber Conference as it heads into a milestone year, reflecting on how a decade of shared research and community has pushed the industry forward. Then we break down Rothoblaas’ Radial connection system and why factory pre-installation, tighter tolerances, and rapid on-site assembly matter to developers and contractors chasing schedule certainty and cost control. If you care about embodied carbon and buildability, these details are the difference between an idea and a signed contract.

Our global tour continues with planning approval for a mixed use campus in Shoreditch, where creative retrofit meets new-build to strengthen the public realm. In Texas, a 212,000-square-foot Mass Timber Experiential Learning Hub at Texas A&M ties regional sourcing to a bold educational vision set to open in 2028. And in Sydney, Atlassian Central’s hybrid timber frame reveals lush “habitats” that make climate leadership tangible in a major commercial tower anchoring the city’s tech precinct.

We close with a major signal from Big Tech: Amazon’s full-scale mass timber trials for data centres. When logistics giants aim to cut embodied carbon without sacrificing speed or reliability, suppliers, engineers, and insurers all pay attention. That momentum, combined with Microsoft and Google exploring similar paths, suggests mass timber is moving from showcase to standard in mission-critical facilities. Subscribe, share with a colleague who needs a spark, and tell us: which project points most clearly to the future you want to build?

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, we are alive.
This is the moment you are inthe window.

(00:49):
Good morning, good afternoon, orgood evening with everywhere in
the world today.
Welcome to the Mass TwoReconstruction Podcast.
This is Paul Cramer, your host,and I have to apologize to
everybody.
Unfortunately, I've had somevery tragic family news.
My mother has uh suffered wrongwith dementia and unfortunately
has um departed this world withgreat grace and dignity.

(01:12):
Um she'll be missed by all,however, it has interrupted
significantly the podcast, so Ido need to apologize to
everybody who's listening to thepodcast on a regular basis, and
uh, I'm sorry for the disruptionand interruption.
But the show must go on, as mymum would say, and she'd be very
proud to keep going.
So let's have a look at what'smaking news around the world

(01:34):
this week in Mass TimberConstruction Land.
And don't forget theInternational Mass Timber
Conference celebrating its 10thyear in Portland, Oregon, coming
up next year in 2026.
Get your tickets quick becausethe early bird rates will start
to drop off all the way in thelead up to the conference.
Make sure you book your flightsor get your hotel accommodation

(01:56):
because it's usually very, verybusy around that time of year,
and you don't want to miss outon getting to Portland to see
this monumental event.
And thank you to theInternational Mass Timber
Conference uh team who have beendedicated to advancing the
technology for over 10-11 yearsnow.
Um, if you think about the leadup to the original conference in

(02:19):
2015-2016, and uh thank you foreverything that you do, it is an
amazing event.
Uh, congratulations to all ofthose that also went to um
Innsbruck uh this year in earlyDecember.
I hope you had a great time, anduh, I hope that there's many
sharing of stories, research,ideas, and connections that you

(02:40):
will make around the world toprogress this amazing
technology.
And great supporters of thepodcast, Rotha Blast have come
up with a new concept calledRadial, a new era in
connections.
It is a revolutionary,efficient, reliable, and
sustainable modern constructionconnection.

(03:02):
It's got a patented design whichrefines traditional assembly
processes with two semicircularplates that can be pre-installed
in the factory, reducing on-sitework to the simple fastening of
a few bolts.
And the streamlined approachaccelerates installation and
minimizes the costs of labor.
For demanding projects, thisprecision and adaptability of

(03:26):
the system allows for tensileconnections with high
installation tolerances, and youcan go and have a look at the
amazing connection system usingthe apex of our beam system
that's coming together as partof their video, and you'll see
that it has a connection for CLTand GLT panels, providing a

(03:48):
resilience in many directions.
It has a hinge connection forglue lamb beam types for
stability and flexibility, andit uses S355 carbon steel and a
surface treatment which offersexceptional strength.
So, congratulations to the teamat Rother Blast for always
breaking the barriers ofinnovation and look out for

(04:10):
radio, and I'm sure it'llprobably feature in the next
Build the Impossiblecompetition, potentially in
2026.
Over to the UK now and SingerStudios in Shoreditch, England.
The general projects winapproval for the landmark mixed
use campus in Shoreditch.
The plans for Singer Studiosoutline the creative retrofit of

(04:32):
two existing buildings andconstruction of three buildings
close to the old streetunderground station.
The mixed use site includes longstay apartment hotels, hotel
style buildings, a newstandalone creative headquarters
accessible to the public realmand the small-scale retail units
designed for the local business.

(04:53):
We've got some great uh artistimpressions, concept drawings
for the project.
If you'd like to check them out,go head to our LinkedIn feed.
And heading to Texas now, andMass Timber building breaks
ground at Texas AM CollegeStation in Texas.
The AM university has brokenground on the 250 million Mass
Timber Experiential LearningHub.

(05:15):
The sustainably designedbuilding located across from
Kyle Football Field Stadium willserve as the university's new
visitor center.
The three-story Alpen Centerwill transform hospitality,
retail, and marketing educationwhen it opens in 2028.
Nearly 212,000 square feet.

(05:35):
It will use timber source fromlocal Texas sawmills and it will
be contracting around 60 milliontowards the particular project.
Congratulations for everybodyinvolved in this incredible
project.
We look forward to seeing thevideos and site footage as soon
as it comes through.
And we're darting around theplace and to Sydney, Australia,

(05:58):
where the Sydney skyline ischanging to reveal the first of
the timber habitats at theAtlassian Central, the world's
tallest hybrid timber commercialbuilding owned by Dexus and
Atlassian.
Atlassian Central is going toshowcase around 10,000 cubic
meters of glue lamb, CLT, andspruce timber that is going to

(06:23):
be the culmination of habitatsin a visionary design,
challenging climate leadershipin a workplace innovation and a
catalyst for change in thisheart of the Sydney's new tech
central precinct, which is whatAtlassian's anchoring right now.
The images coming through arequite impressive.

(06:43):
There's one with a balcony wherethere are attendees at the
building sitting inside one ofthe habitats, and you can see
the enormity of this projectwhen you have a look at this
particular photo.
So if you want to check it out,you know where to go.
And we previously had MikaelaHarms on the show talking about
Amazon's strategy to use masstimber, and we have an article

(07:05):
this month that's come outtalking about the fact that
Amazon has chosen mass timberfor its data centers, and they
did a full-scale test and trialto analyze and refine greener
ways to run their high-volumedelivery networks.
The goal was simple keeppackages moving at full speed
while learning how to cutemissions and waste across

(07:25):
Amazon's vast supply chain.
Congratulations to Amazon nowleading the pack with Microsoft
and Google and others in takinga stake in Mass Timber,
specifically around datacenters.
So that's it, folks.
That's all we've got time forthis week in Mass Timber
Construction Land.
I look forward to bringing youmore news next week.
Once again, apologies for myabsence, unfortunately.

(07:48):
Family comes first, and Iimplore you all to give your
loved ones a big hug and uh andexpress your love because
sometimes it can be very cutshort.
Uh, I really appreciate yousticking by the podcast and
thank you very much foreverything in 2026.
I look forward to bringing youin another episode very, very

(08:09):
soon.
Good morning, good afternoon, orgood evening wherever you are in
the world today.
This is Paul Kramer signing offon the Mass Timber Construction
Podcast.