January 1, 2026 • 14 mins
The year closed with a mix of steel in the spine and softness in the heart. We share how mass timber scaled to new heights and why living with intention matters just as much as specifying the right glulam beam. From a record free-spanning timber arch cradling Air New Zealand’s fleet to a revised, low‑carbon CLT vision for Liverpool Street Station, the momentum is real and the images are stunning. If you care about sustainable architecture, embodied carbon, and the craft of building at scale, this roundup will leave you energised.
We walk through London’s nine‑storey modular Xylo workspace and the pragmatic hybrid at the University of Arkansas, where a steel lab bar meets a warm mass timber pavilion. Charlotte’s Cordo development shows how CLT can carry homes, co‑working, and wellness spaces with biophilic ease. Then it’s north to the University of Toronto’s Mass Timber Research Centre, a landscape‑savvy campus that pairs exposed timber with climate‑responsive design, covered paths, and shared facilities that foster research, collaboration, and smarter standards. These are not one‑offs; they’re signals that timber is now a credible default in aviation, transport hubs, workplaces, universities, and housing.
Amid the project wins, we pause on health, grief, and the power of short, durable goals for 2026. Former Seahawk Michael Bennett’s Night Chapel in Seattle reminds us that structures can hold more than loads; they can hold community, memory, and a moment to breathe. We close with gratitude to long‑time supporters and to you, the listeners whose steady attention keeps this work alive. If you’re setting plans for the new year, make them clear, manageable, and meaningful—and let mass timber be part of that change.
If this resonated, follow the show, share it with a colleague who loves sustainable design, and leave a quick review so more people can find these stories. Your support helps us keep bringing you thoughtful, timber‑first insights.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, we are alive.
This is the moment you all havebeen a waiting on.
(00:49):
Good morning, good afternoon, orgood evening wherever you are in
the world today.
Welcome to the Mass TimberConstruction Podcast.
This is Paul Kramer, your host,with the final episode for 2025
in Mass Timber Construction.
And as we say goodbye to 2025,we look forward to 2026 and many
more things to come.
(01:09):
2025 has marked some personalchallenges for myself, losing a
very, very close person to me,my mother.
It's been a very, very difficultlast six months.
Please do keep yourself activeand fit.
Dementia is a terrible conditionthat uh steals loved ones from
(01:30):
families, and it's on theincrease, primarily due to
hereditary concerns andlifestyle elements within our
social system.
It can be modified, you can makea difference.
So please eat healthily, pleasework out, please keep your mind
active.
In fact, listening to thispodcast, writing papers and
(01:51):
submitting them would be areally good way to do that.
And so, in honor of my mother, Ijust want to say thank you to
everybody for all of the successover the last five years, and we
look forward to what happens inthe future moving forward.
Let's have a look at what'smaking news around the world
this month in mass timberconstruction land as we head out
(02:13):
of 2025 into 2026.
And first up, we start with myold company XLAM Australia and
New Zealand, and the SouthernHemisphere's largest
free-spanning timber built archfor Air New Zealand through Xlam
has been unveiled in the newhangar 4 at Auckland Airport.
(02:34):
Now, this news was reported afew months ago.
However, there's some newstunning footage of the plane
sitting inside the hangar.
It is an impressive article.
So if you want to go and have alook at some photos, not of the
project itself, but completionand post-project, where the uh
Air New Zealand fleet isactually inside this hangar, and
(02:57):
you can get to see the enormityof what this structure really
holds.
Please head to our LinkedIn feedand have a look at it.
And congratulations to theentire team at XLAM I know who
worked on this job relentlesslyfor many years before its
realization.
It is a great success.
Congratulations to the wholeteam.
And an article snuck in inDecember with the university
(03:19):
plans at the Port of Portland tocreate a new mass timber
innovation campus.
I don't have too many otherdetails.
It is a subscription article,and I'm not going to be
subscribing.
But if you do know any furtherdetails, please flick them to
me.
However, there's going to be anew lab as part of Port of
Portland's larger plans for amass timber innovation campus in
(03:42):
Oregon.
Look out for this space nextyear in 2026.
We will probably report morethen.
An alternative vision ofLiverpool Street station in
London has been revealed by theKing's Cross Redevelopment Team.
The network rail schemecurrently in the City of London
is the second submission of thefirst application withdrawn due
(04:06):
to the extent of the oppositionopposing the particular design.
So this new design now creates aspace which includes low-carbon
design wrapping high-qualitysustainable facade with nine
floors of cross-lamated timber,a lightweight material and
(04:27):
framing, as we all know, thatwill be used as uh an internal
system for platforms to be abovethis particular rail station.
The artist's impressions arepretty uh compelling.
If you want to go and have alook, there's two posts that
show how this project will be uhdrawn, and one of the concepts
(04:48):
is John McAlson and partners whohad previously worked on the
previous version, and they havenow revitalized this to include
a 20-story office block builtover the concourse, uh, and it's
expected that the City of Londonwill decide that in 2025 for
2026.
(05:08):
Probably a bit of old news forpeople in the UK, but McLaren
Builders has been appointed asthe largest timber modular
building uh developer for anine-story Xylo scheme, which is
9,290 square meters of workspacein central London.
Construction is due forcompletion in the second quarter
(05:30):
of 2028, so it's a long-termproject, and the contract value
was not disclosed, but dataprovided was estimated at 57
million.
The building was designed byPeri and Co.
with services and sustainabilityengineering by Max Fordham and
the civil structural engineer byHyon Tiliot Steel.
(05:52):
The project management will beheld by uh Avizion Young, and
the modular structure will beentirely of engineered timber
with glue lamb beams and CLTcomponents, and will be supplied
by William Hare, subsidiary ofhybrid structures.
So it's a great uh project.
If you want to have a look atsome concept drawings, they are
(06:12):
on the LinkedIn feed now.
We look forward to looking atthis project's progress over
time.
And there's some images of theUniversity of Arkansas School of
Pioneering embracing masstimber, the steel-framed
laboratory bar hugged by masstimber pavilion, is the way the
(06:32):
Meredith Hayes Gordon Scienceand Technology Market Sector
leader and national architecturefirm HGA described the parties
for the Institute of Integrativeand Innovative Research, the
I3R, at the University ofArkansas.
Open in 2025.
This building is an impressivebuilding, and these photos do it
(06:55):
justice.
It's great to look back onbuildings that have been um
completed and see how they'rebeing functionally used.
I like comparing them to therenders to see how they actually
turned out.
Most times renders are actuallydoing quite a justice for the
particular project.
And in December, Swinnerton alsoannounced the topping out of uh
(07:18):
Cordo, which is a$111 millionmultifamily development in
Charlotte's Optimist Park andthe construction of the firm's
fifth collaborative space withspacecraft.
Built on 1.7 acre site inCharlotte's Optimus Park
community.
The building stands seven floorsof 1,200 square feet of street
(07:42):
level retail steps from CordeliaPark Optimus Hall and the Lynx
Line Blue Line Light RailAccess.
The 325,000 square footdevelopment features 278 studio
1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom units andoffers premium amenities
including rooftop terrace,resident lounge, game room, a
(08:05):
full kitchen, media andco-working spaces, outdoor
courtyard, and fitness andwellness areas.
The building was produced withbiophilic elements in mind for
each resident using CLT and uhincorporating the architecture
from Shook Kelly Design, whichwas community located at 512
(08:27):
East and 21st Street inCharlotte.
Congratulations to Swinnertonand all the team on the project.
I know you guys work extremelyhard and thank you for being
great supporters for the podcastover many years.
The opening of the Mass TimberResearch Center in the
University of Toronto marks aturning point for Mass Timber in
(08:48):
general.
They are now starting to becomemore abundant.
This new milestone is set amidsta vast natural landscape of
forests, farmland, andwaterways.
It's designed to interactseamlessly with the terrain and
natural light.
Exposed timbers witheco-friendly materials reduced
the carbon footprint, and largewindows captured winter sunlight
(09:10):
and provide shading in summer.
Covered pathways and internalcourtyards encourage movement
and interaction among studentsand researchers in the building.
With 20-sessional cabinsoffering comfortable
accommodation during war months,shared facilities in cabins
reduce water consumption, andthe project provides a
sustainable architecturalexperience in harmony with
(09:33):
nature, making the center andthe heart of the school of the
research activities on thereserve.
Congratulations to University ofToronto! Great images coming
through, and it's great to seethe projects popping up on
university campuses to progressthings like mass timber.
Over 15 years ago, I went toSeattle and I saw a Seahawks
(09:54):
game, and I was really pleasedto read that former Seahawk
Michael Bennett is now adesigner and he's bringing a
chapel to Seattle.
Nestled into the southeasterncorner of the grounds of the
Seattle's Northwest AfricanAmerican Museum, is a small
chapel built of colored timber.
You might be surprised to learnthat Michael Bennett, the former
(10:17):
NFL player and Seahawksdefensive lineman from 2013 to
2017, who is now a designer, hasuh opened up what he calls a
night chapel, a travelingstructure positioned outside the
NARM that explores how lightstructure design can coalesce in
(10:38):
an experience rooted incommunity, social justice, and
mental health.
If you'd like to have a look atthe impressive photos for this
particular structure and thepicture of Michael himself
inside the structure, you knowwhere to head.
So that's it, folks.
That's all we've got time forthis week in Massima
Construction Land.
We'll be back next year inJanuary with our first episode.
(11:01):
We want to wish you a greatholiday season.
I hope that you have a fantasticnew year.
I'll be taking some time offbecause I just need it.
Um, I hope that uh if you arewith loved ones, please hug them
tight.
Your time is finite on thisplanet.
I know that now more than everbefore, and it puts things into
(11:21):
perspective.
So take care of one another.
Please do look after each otherand rejoice in reflecting on
2025.
Please don't make lists for NewYear's resolutions that may end
in February.
Think long and deep about whatit is that you want to do in
2026, and make sure that thatlist is short but profound, and
(11:43):
make sure it's things you canstick to.
A big shout out to our sponsorsof the podcast over the many
many years, Rotho Blas, and inparticular Peter Lang.
Thank you for all of yoursupport and belief in the
podcast.
Another massive thank you to aperson who goes quietly about
their work in industry and hasbeen a great friend to me
(12:06):
personally over the years, KevinNolan from VaporShield.
And Kevin, thank you so much foryour ongoing support.
It's been two years that you'vebeen tipping in a little bit of
money each month uh to supportthe podcast, it has really kept
us going.
Um, also to Peter Lang, it'sbeen three years that he's been
(12:26):
supporting the podcast throughRotho Blast as well.
But Peter also was veryinstrumental in the early days,
so it's been five years thatRotho Blast has been involved in
this podcast in some way, shape,or form, and it has really meant
the difference to all of us.
So thank you to all oursupporters for the podcast.
We really do appreciate it.
Without you, we couldn't getthis done.
(12:48):
Finally, to you, the listeners,thank you so much for everything
that you have done.
Your listening statistics, youdon't see them in the
background.
There are thousands of peoplethat listen on a regular basis,
and we are very proud to be ableto bring you the news each week
and also bring those into lewdsand guest spots.
Uh, sorry for the disruption in2025, especially the last six
(13:09):
months.
It's been very difficult toproduce the episodes on a weekly
basis, primarily because of thepersonal things happening in my
life.
I do apologize for that.
To end on a positive note, thankyou so much again for everything
that you have done.
I hope you have a great timewith your family and loved one,
and we look forward to catchingup with you very, very soon.
(13:31):
Good morning, good afternoon, orgood evening, happy new year to
you all.
This is Paul Kramer signing offon the Mass Timber Construction
Podcast.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are alive.
This is the moment you all havebeen a waiting on.
(00:49):
Good morning, good afternoon, orgood evening wherever you are in
the world today.
Welcome to the Mass TimberConstruction Podcast.
This is Paul Kramer, your host,with the final episode for 2025
in Mass Timber Construction.
And as we say goodbye to 2025,we look forward to 2026 and many
more things to come.
(01:09):
2025 has marked some personalchallenges for myself, losing a
very, very close person to me,my mother.
It's been a very, very difficultlast six months.
Please do keep yourself activeand fit.
Dementia is a terrible conditionthat uh steals loved ones from
(01:30):
families, and it's on theincrease, primarily due to
hereditary concerns andlifestyle elements within our
social system.
It can be modified, you can makea difference.
So please eat healthily, pleasework out, please keep your mind
active.
In fact, listening to thispodcast, writing papers and
(01:51):
submitting them would be areally good way to do that.
And so, in honor of my mother, Ijust want to say thank you to
everybody for all of the successover the last five years, and we
look forward to what happens inthe future moving forward.
Let's have a look at what'smaking news around the world
this month in mass timberconstruction land as we head out
(02:13):
of 2025 into 2026.
And first up, we start with myold company XLAM Australia and
New Zealand, and the SouthernHemisphere's largest
free-spanning timber built archfor Air New Zealand through Xlam
has been unveiled in the newhangar 4 at Auckland Airport.
(02:34):
Now, this news was reported afew months ago.
However, there's some newstunning footage of the plane
sitting inside the hangar.
It is an impressive article.
So if you want to go and have alook at some photos, not of the
project itself, but completionand post-project, where the uh
Air New Zealand fleet isactually inside this hangar, and
(02:57):
you can get to see the enormityof what this structure really
holds.
Please head to our LinkedIn feedand have a look at it.
And congratulations to theentire team at XLAM I know who
worked on this job relentlesslyfor many years before its
realization.
It is a great success.
Congratulations to the wholeteam.
And an article snuck in inDecember with the university
(03:19):
plans at the Port of Portland tocreate a new mass timber
innovation campus.
I don't have too many otherdetails.
It is a subscription article,and I'm not going to be
subscribing.
But if you do know any furtherdetails, please flick them to
me.
However, there's going to be anew lab as part of Port of
Portland's larger plans for amass timber innovation campus in
(03:42):
Oregon.
Look out for this space nextyear in 2026.
We will probably report morethen.
An alternative vision ofLiverpool Street station in
London has been revealed by theKing's Cross Redevelopment Team.
The network rail schemecurrently in the City of London
is the second submission of thefirst application withdrawn due
(04:06):
to the extent of the oppositionopposing the particular design.
So this new design now creates aspace which includes low-carbon
design wrapping high-qualitysustainable facade with nine
floors of cross-lamated timber,a lightweight material and
(04:27):
framing, as we all know, thatwill be used as uh an internal
system for platforms to be abovethis particular rail station.
The artist's impressions arepretty uh compelling.
If you want to go and have alook, there's two posts that
show how this project will be uhdrawn, and one of the concepts
(04:48):
is John McAlson and partners whohad previously worked on the
previous version, and they havenow revitalized this to include
a 20-story office block builtover the concourse, uh, and it's
expected that the City of Londonwill decide that in 2025 for
2026.
(05:08):
Probably a bit of old news forpeople in the UK, but McLaren
Builders has been appointed asthe largest timber modular
building uh developer for anine-story Xylo scheme, which is
9,290 square meters of workspacein central London.
Construction is due forcompletion in the second quarter
(05:30):
of 2028, so it's a long-termproject, and the contract value
was not disclosed, but dataprovided was estimated at 57
million.
The building was designed byPeri and Co.
with services and sustainabilityengineering by Max Fordham and
the civil structural engineer byHyon Tiliot Steel.
(05:52):
The project management will beheld by uh Avizion Young, and
the modular structure will beentirely of engineered timber
with glue lamb beams and CLTcomponents, and will be supplied
by William Hare, subsidiary ofhybrid structures.
So it's a great uh project.
If you want to have a look atsome concept drawings, they are
(06:12):
on the LinkedIn feed now.
We look forward to looking atthis project's progress over
time.
And there's some images of theUniversity of Arkansas School of
Pioneering embracing masstimber, the steel-framed
laboratory bar hugged by masstimber pavilion, is the way the
(06:32):
Meredith Hayes Gordon Scienceand Technology Market Sector
leader and national architecturefirm HGA described the parties
for the Institute of Integrativeand Innovative Research, the
I3R, at the University ofArkansas.
Open in 2025.
This building is an impressivebuilding, and these photos do it
(06:55):
justice.
It's great to look back onbuildings that have been um
completed and see how they'rebeing functionally used.
I like comparing them to therenders to see how they actually
turned out.
Most times renders are actuallydoing quite a justice for the
particular project.
And in December, Swinnerton alsoannounced the topping out of uh
(07:18):
Cordo, which is a$111 millionmultifamily development in
Charlotte's Optimist Park andthe construction of the firm's
fifth collaborative space withspacecraft.
Built on 1.7 acre site inCharlotte's Optimus Park
community.
The building stands seven floorsof 1,200 square feet of street
(07:42):
level retail steps from CordeliaPark Optimus Hall and the Lynx
Line Blue Line Light RailAccess.
The 325,000 square footdevelopment features 278 studio
1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom units andoffers premium amenities
including rooftop terrace,resident lounge, game room, a
(08:05):
full kitchen, media andco-working spaces, outdoor
courtyard, and fitness andwellness areas.
The building was produced withbiophilic elements in mind for
each resident using CLT and uhincorporating the architecture
from Shook Kelly Design, whichwas community located at 512
(08:27):
East and 21st Street inCharlotte.
Congratulations to Swinnertonand all the team on the project.
I know you guys work extremelyhard and thank you for being
great supporters for the podcastover many years.
The opening of the Mass TimberResearch Center in the
University of Toronto marks aturning point for Mass Timber in
(08:48):
general.
They are now starting to becomemore abundant.
This new milestone is set amidsta vast natural landscape of
forests, farmland, andwaterways.
It's designed to interactseamlessly with the terrain and
natural light.
Exposed timbers witheco-friendly materials reduced
the carbon footprint, and largewindows captured winter sunlight
(09:10):
and provide shading in summer.
Covered pathways and internalcourtyards encourage movement
and interaction among studentsand researchers in the building.
With 20-sessional cabinsoffering comfortable
accommodation during war months,shared facilities in cabins
reduce water consumption, andthe project provides a
sustainable architecturalexperience in harmony with
(09:33):
nature, making the center andthe heart of the school of the
research activities on thereserve.
Congratulations to University ofToronto! Great images coming
through, and it's great to seethe projects popping up on
university campuses to progressthings like mass timber.
Over 15 years ago, I went toSeattle and I saw a Seahawks
(09:54):
game, and I was really pleasedto read that former Seahawk
Michael Bennett is now adesigner and he's bringing a
chapel to Seattle.
Nestled into the southeasterncorner of the grounds of the
Seattle's Northwest AfricanAmerican Museum, is a small
chapel built of colored timber.
You might be surprised to learnthat Michael Bennett, the former
(10:17):
NFL player and Seahawksdefensive lineman from 2013 to
2017, who is now a designer, hasuh opened up what he calls a
night chapel, a travelingstructure positioned outside the
NARM that explores how lightstructure design can coalesce in
(10:38):
an experience rooted incommunity, social justice, and
mental health.
If you'd like to have a look atthe impressive photos for this
particular structure and thepicture of Michael himself
inside the structure, you knowwhere to head.
So that's it, folks.
That's all we've got time forthis week in Massima
Construction Land.
We'll be back next year inJanuary with our first episode.
(11:01):
We want to wish you a greatholiday season.
I hope that you have a fantasticnew year.
I'll be taking some time offbecause I just need it.
Um, I hope that uh if you arewith loved ones, please hug them
tight.
Your time is finite on thisplanet.
I know that now more than everbefore, and it puts things into
(11:21):
perspective.
So take care of one another.
Please do look after each otherand rejoice in reflecting on
2025.
Please don't make lists for NewYear's resolutions that may end
in February.
Think long and deep about whatit is that you want to do in
2026, and make sure that thatlist is short but profound, and
(11:43):
make sure it's things you canstick to.
A big shout out to our sponsorsof the podcast over the many
many years, Rotho Blas, and inparticular Peter Lang.
Thank you for all of yoursupport and belief in the
podcast.
Another massive thank you to aperson who goes quietly about
their work in industry and hasbeen a great friend to me
(12:06):
personally over the years, KevinNolan from VaporShield.
And Kevin, thank you so much foryour ongoing support.
It's been two years that you'vebeen tipping in a little bit of
money each month uh to supportthe podcast, it has really kept
us going.
Um, also to Peter Lang, it'sbeen three years that he's been
(12:26):
supporting the podcast throughRotho Blast as well.
But Peter also was veryinstrumental in the early days,
so it's been five years thatRotho Blast has been involved in
this podcast in some way, shape,or form, and it has really meant
the difference to all of us.
So thank you to all oursupporters for the podcast.
We really do appreciate it.
Without you, we couldn't getthis done.
(12:48):
Finally, to you, the listeners,thank you so much for everything
that you have done.
Your listening statistics, youdon't see them in the
background.
There are thousands of peoplethat listen on a regular basis,
and we are very proud to be ableto bring you the news each week
and also bring those into lewdsand guest spots.
Uh, sorry for the disruption in2025, especially the last six
(13:09):
months.
It's been very difficult toproduce the episodes on a weekly
basis, primarily because of thepersonal things happening in my
life.
I do apologize for that.
To end on a positive note, thankyou so much again for everything
that you have done.
I hope you have a great timewith your family and loved one,
and we look forward to catchingup with you very, very soon.
(13:31):
Good morning, good afternoon, orgood evening, happy new year to
you all.
This is Paul Kramer signing offon the Mass Timber Construction
Podcast.
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