Mass Timber Market Updates - September 2025 - Week ThirtySix

Want a clear view of where mass timber is winning right now? We walk through five fresh stories that tie speed, carbon, and human-centred design into one practical playbook—then cap it with a new moisture management guide that raises the quality bar for everyone building with wood.

We start with Heathrow’s Eastern Business Park, where logistics pressures demand fast delivery and minimal disruption. Prefabricated roof panels arrive with solar arrays integrated, steel frames are pre-assembled and reassembled on site, and cross-laminated timber sections drop into place with precision. It’s a case study in how digital planning and factory-first workflows translate into fewer site hours and better energy performance from day one.

From there, we head to Oregon’s La Plaza Esperanza, a mass timber community hub designed by ZGF that offsets roughly 80% of its energy use with solar. The exposed structure, sloped roof, and light-filled rooms support a bilingual preschool, youth programmes, and a flexible hall for celebrations—proof that CLT can carry beauty, comfort, and equity in the same envelope. We also spotlight Matt’s Place 2.0 in Spokane, an ALS-friendly smart home that pairs CLT and modular construction with voice-activated controls for doors, lighting, and security, protecting dignity as mobility declines. Then it’s over to Gdańsk, where the Fahrenheit student housing complex uses CLT for sustainable, adaptable dorms that balance privacy, daylight, and social spaces—an honest answer to modern student needs.

Threading through every segment is the importance of water tightness and durability. The Danish Technological Institute’s new moisture management guide—supported by Built by Nature—offers practical strategies, role clarity, monitoring plans, and checklists that teams can adopt from design through operations. If you’re serious about mass timber, this is the handbook that keeps performance on track and risk under control.

If these stories sparked ideas, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a quick review—your feedback helps more builders, designers, and clients find the path to better timber projects.

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Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Ladies and gentlemen, we are alive.
This is the moment you all havebeen a waiting on the hallway.

SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening
wherever you are in the worldtoday.
Welcome to Mass TimberConstruction Podcast.
I'm Paul Kramer, your host.
Don't forget the InternationalMass Timber Conference coming up
in March 31st to April 2nd in2026, celebrating 10 years,
taking abstracts or submissionsfor presentations now.
So please get your uh input inso that you potentially can

(01:12):
become a presenter in thismonumental 10-year celebration.
Also, don't forget to hit theregistration button, get your
registration in.
Also, book your accommodation atAirfares now.
I cannot stress how much it haschanged in recent years.
There is a real need to haveyour accommodation uh booked

(01:32):
well in advance, otherwise, youwill be in very remote places to
be able to get to the conventioncenter in Oregon.
So don't miss out.
Anyway, on to more mass timbernews from around the world.
And Heat Throw Airport has beguna significant redevelopment in
its eastern business part,transforming a 1.6 hectare site
into a new logistics facilitydesigned to support the

(01:54):
airport's growing internationaland business needs.
Nearly all the buildingcomponents will be prefabricated
from 16-meter continuous roofpanels fitted with solar arrays
to cross-limited timber roofsections cut precisely to the
lengths before delivery.
Even the steel frames will bepre-assembled in the factory,
dismantled for transport, andthen quickly erected in the

(02:16):
site, speeding up theinstallation process because the
site has a requirement for speedof construction, and this is one
of the ways that prefabrication,including things like mass
timber, can support a buildwhere there is an urgent need to
get assembly of a structurespretty quickly.
So if you want to have a look atthe latest details, you can go

(02:37):
to the Heathrow Airport uhbusiness uh Eastern Business
Park transformation website, oryou can head to our LinkedIn
feed.
And the Latino Network, anOregon non-profit, opens an
18,000 square foot mass timbercommunity center designed by ZGF
Architects.
La Plaza Esperanza also featuresa solar array designed to offset

(03:01):
the building's annual energy useby about 80%.
Uh, the place is called a placeof hope.
The community center is called aplace of hope, includes an
office space, bilingualpreschool, youth programs, and a
multi-purpose room for communitycelebrations, events, meetings,
festivals, etc.
The project selected mass timberfor the structure as a

(03:22):
carbon-friendly, cost-effectivesolution material compared to
steel and dimensional lumber.
In addition to the building'ssloped mass timber roof and
exposed wood structure, there'sa nod to the surrounding Pacific
Northwest Forestry.
It's an impressive building.
If you want to have a look atthe photos, please either head
to the um Latino Network websiteor head to our LinkedIn feed.

(03:44):
And just down the road a littlebit to Spokane and Spokane House
Design for people living withALS has won a prestigious
national award called Matt'sPlace 2.0.
The project meets unique needswhile also being a showcase for
CLT construction, modulardesign, and smart home
technology, according to theAmerican Institute of

(04:04):
Architects, which honored it forits sustainable housing design.
The Seattle Architecture fromMiller Hull Partnership was
funded by two graduates fromWashington State University
architecture program.
Vargain Timbers was involved init.
Well done to the guys at Vargan,which supplied the CLT to use in
the project, and generalcontractor was Abaka

(04:27):
Constructions and Development.
The view of the kitchen, thedining room, the living space
inside Matt's place, and smarthome features allow people with
ALS to control the lights,security systems, and doors
using voice activation becauseALS impacts the capacity to use
your movement, your hands, youryour limbs, etc.

(04:49):
And so this building catersspecifically for that.
Congratulations to everyone onthe MATS 2, uh Matz Place 2
project, and uh yeah, we'd loveto see further developments in
this space where we can use MassTimber to support people who
have additional needs insociety.
And the project that's headed upby Gdance University of

(05:10):
Technology, located in Gdants uhdistrict uh center, has um
combined ecological solutionswith functionality and comfort
for residents in a brand new uhfacility that is dormitories
called Fahrenheit.
The dormitory complex wasdesigned in accordance with the
modern requirements that takeinto account both technology and

(05:32):
social aspects for theconstruction project, and of
course, it used mass timber,specifically CLT technology, to
uh ensure the sustainability ofthe building and ensure that the
space was designed with theconvenience of the end users in
mind, making the project aresponse to modern challenges
for student housing.
Impressive photos, they are inblack and white, they actually

(05:55):
look really good in black andwhite.
Um, if you'd like to see more,head to our LinkedIn feed.
And very important in thismodern day and age of using mass
timber, there is a new moisturemanagement guide to support
quality in timber construction.
The Danish Technology Institutehas support been supported by
Built by Nature and launched anew practical guide to moisture

(06:18):
management designed to helpensure high quality standards
for future timber projects.
Their experience shows thatclear moisture strategies,
well-defined roles, and ongoingmonitoring are essential for
maintaining quality in timberprojects, with a new guide and
industry gains created throughpractical tools and applications

(06:38):
to inform decision making aboutmoisture management and apply
real-world applications, is thefunction of this guide.
The guide provides thebackground information, examples
of various moisture strategiesand checklists that you can use.
Together with these resources,the project teams developed a
tailored moisture managementsolution implementing systematic
moisture control throughconstruction and building

(07:00):
operations.
So we know moisture managementthrough the assembly, we also
know it in the production, wealso know it through to finished
um compliance, and then you'vegot ongoing moisture management
control uh monitoring requiredor observations and checks.
And so this guide is verycomprehensive.
So if you want to check it out,obviously head to uh the

(07:22):
build-in-wood community page.
You can go to built by nature oryou can go to the Danish
Technology Institute and searchfor the moisture management
guide to support quality intimber construction.
And that's it, folks.
That's all we've got time forthis week in Mass Timber
Construction Land.
We hope that you have an amazingweek.
Thanks for checking in, liking,subscribing, uh, sharing,

(07:45):
commenting on our posts.
Don't forget to submit amanuscript to our academic
journal if you have a researchproject, and we look forward to
catching up with you very, verysoon with more news from around
the world.
Good morning, good afternoon, orgood evening, wherever you are
in the world today.
This is Paul Kramer signing offon the Mass Timber Construction
Podcast.