Mass Timber Market Updates - June 2025 - Week TwentyThree

The timber revolution is building momentum across the globe. This week, we journey through five remarkable projects that showcase how mass timber is transforming our built environment and challenging conventional construction methods.

Toronto steps boldly into affordable housing innovation with Collective Marquee Developments' ambitious Danforth Avenue project. This eight-storey mid-rise building will deliver 64 purpose-built rental suites using factory-built mass timber methods, with 10% of units secured as affordable for an unprecedented 99 years. Located near transit hubs and designed with sustainability at its core, this development represents a crucial milestone in addressing the "missing middle" housing gap through eco-conscious construction.

We then explore Cullinan Studios' thoughtful timber expansion of Maggie's Newcastle, where architectural harmony meets practical innovation. By switching from concrete to a mass timber frame, the designers created a lighter structure requiring less intensive foundations—proving that sustainability and cost-effectiveness can go hand-in-hand without compromising design integrity.

The Adelaide Aquatic Centre stands as a testament to global collaboration, featuring massive 37-meter glulam beams and CLT components shipped from Europe to Australia. This logistical marvel demonstrates how international supply chains can effectively deliver mass timber solutions across continents. Meanwhile, in Germany, Trumpf's striking 40,000-square-foot education center showcases how corporations are embracing mass timber to create distinctive, brand-aligned architectural statements with their radial roof structure becoming a campus centerpiece.

Perhaps most intriguing is the emergence of "Super Bungalows" in Los Angeles, where mass timber meets resilience in fire-prone California. This hybrid system of mass timber and light timber framing pioneers a construction approach that could revolutionize multifamily housing throughout Southern California.

Join us as we celebrate these groundbreaking projects and continue our mission of documenting the global mass timber movement. Don't forget to connect with us on LinkedIn, share your thoughts, or submit your research to the Mass Timber Construction Journal. Together, we're building a more sustainable future—one timber beam at a time.

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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 Paul Kramer,your host.

(00:48):
Good morning, good afternoon orgood evening wherever you are
in the world today.
Welcome to the Mass TimberConstruction Podcast.
My name is Paul Kramer, yourhost.
Welcome to another weeklyepisode of our update for Mass
Timber projects around the world.
Don't forget to hit like,subscribe, share, comment on our
posts on our linkedin mediafeed or leave us some feedback.

(01:09):
Mass timber constructionpodcast at gmailcom, and we
would be very pleased to receiveyour information to tell us
what you think of the content.
Let's have a look at what'smaking news around the world
this week in mass timberconstruction, land and
collective marquee launches amissing middle rental portfolio

(01:30):
with Danforth applicationCollective, marquee Developments
has been submitting a zoning bylaw amendment application to
the City of Toronto for 2720 to2734 Danforth Avenue.
For 2720-2734 Danforth Avenue,where an eight-story mid-rise

(01:50):
building will be introduced with64 purpose-built rental suites
in East Danforth neighborhood,the design by local architects
proposes to provide the first ofthe missing middle projects
planned for the Toronto area inpartnership with the Canadian
Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The development would rise inthe east of Main Street, within

(02:13):
walking distance of Danforth, goand Main Street's stations.
Gleck Dev Marquis looks atdelivering the mid-rise density
through factory-builtconstruction methods using mass
timber as a primary buildingelement.
All five buildings are designedas purpose-built rentals, with
at least 10% of the unitssecured as affordable for 99
years.
Go well on this project.

(02:34):
It's going to be an importantstep forward for affordable
housing using mass timber inthis space.
Congratulations to the teaminvolved.
You can head to the LinkedInfeed to check out all the
details.
And cullinan studios has added atimber framed extension to
maggie's newcastle over 10 yearsafter the practice completed

(02:54):
the original scheme.
Maggie's newcastle is in thegrounds of the city's freeman
hospital and designed by tedcullinan back in Cullinan
Studios in 2013.
To boost capacity, maggie'sasked Cullinan Studios to add a
new annex to the main buildingwith the same material palette
and rhythm of the existingcentre.
The extension consists of large, multi-purpose rooms with two

(03:17):
small rooms, has its ownentrance route, completing the
third side of the courtyard toprovide additional shelter.
Completing the third side ofthe courtyard to provide
additional shelter.
Design is to be set out in thesame grid and the structure has
mass timber frame instead of atraditional concrete one, which
then gives it a lighterstructural weight capacity,
allowing for less foundations,and thus soil removed is less,

(03:40):
bringing cost savings down.
A great initiative by allinvolved on the project.
If you like to have a look atthis innovative extension to the
existing project, you can headto you know where.
Don't normally promote too manyorganizations on the podcast.
We normally talk about projects, but this has to be a
significant milestones for sarahconstruction in austral,

(04:02):
australia, for the AdelaideAquatic Centre, and specifically
the materials that came fromHarschlaka, norica timber and
Hess timber that were producedin Europe and shipped all the
way to Australia.
There was 324 cubic meters ofglulam and 108 cubic meters of
CLT, for a total of 3,130 meterssquared of prefabricated

(04:27):
acoustic ceilings and modulesthat were delivered to Australia
.
They had a length of 37 meters.
These glulam were shipped inbreak bolt and arrived in
Melbourne and then wereassembled fully on site.
What's really impressive isthere is a video that shows you

(04:47):
a behind the scenes of how theseparticular elements got shipped
and arrived in Australia.
If you'd like to check out thatvideo, you can go to our
LinkedIn feed.
In 2018, I had the pleasure ofgoing to the US to go to the
Trump Factory T-R-U-M-P-F, andnow we are showcasing a project

(05:08):
that was completed in 2024 for a40,000 square foot building
using mass timber elements asthe primary vehicle, mainly
glulam for this particularproject.
The organization has a masstimber belt education center
that the company uses, where itprovides clientele and visitors

(05:30):
an overview of how it producesits equipment and its
integration between all of thefacets within its manufacturing
environment.
Although Trump's headquartersis in a little village, it's
hard to miss this when you'respeeding down the Autobahn just
outside Stuttgart in Germany.
It's hidden in the thick row oftrees, and the new education

(05:57):
center has been created as afocal point for the campus under
a radial roof structure.
I've put the designs and somephotos that are very impressive
of this new education center forTrump.
You can go and check it out foryourself, and we all know that
over the summer period,california and its local hills
were razed by fire.
Now we have super bungalows inLos Angeles.

(06:17):
These are radicallyreconsidered housing options
using panelized buildingcomponents made of mass timber,
and they are used to constructbuilding in the super la, a
design and development firm thatcomes to the views of homes as
products rather than bespokearchitectural projects.
Called super bungalows.

(06:38):
On marathon, the nine unitapartment building is located on
the slope of Los Angeles'Silver Lake neighborhood.
It's a hybrid system of masstimber and light timber framing,
and it's constructed for thefirst time using a system that
can be used to providemultifamily projects in Southern
California.
According to a press release,you can have a look at this

(07:01):
amazing super bungalows if youhead to our LinkedIn feed.
So that's it, folks.
That's all we've got time forthis week in mass timber
construction land.
I hope you have a great weekahead.
We look forward to catching upwith you next week for more
projects, innovative projectsfrom around the world.
Don't forget to like, subscribe, share, comment, repost
anything on our social mediaplatforms, and thank you for

(07:23):
tuning into this podcast.
Each week, we enjoy bringingyou the news.
Don't forget if you've got amanuscript for a research paper,
you'd like to put that into aninternational recognized journal
?
Please think of the Mass TimberConstruction Journal.
We'd be very pleased to reviewyour manuscript.
Good morning, good afternoon orgood evening, wherever you are
in the world today, this is PaulKramer signing off on the Mass

(07:45):
Timber Construction Podcast.
Thank you.