Practical, Resilient, Beautiful
Our region’s most renewable resource is also the commonsense choice for strong, safe, smart urban construction.
Here’s why.
Our region’s most renewable resource is also the commonsense choice for strong, safe, smart urban construction.
Here’s why.
It’s built for speed
There are stark differences between the construction of a floor of post-tensioned concrete and a floor of CLT. On the left, see the slow and labor intensive process of constructing one level of concrete: note the labor, material, and trucking intensive aspects. On the right, watch the construction of one level of CLT: note the low labor and material requirements, and the almost non-existent trucking component. Watch the video to see it in action.
CLT is engineered using small trees of 10 inches or less in diameter. Thinning these trees from dense forests gives wildfires less fuel to burn.
Trees absorb carbon dioxide as they grow, pulling it out of the atmosphere and storing it within the wood fiber. When trees are processed into timber and used in construction, the carbon remains trapped in the wood, locked away for the life of the building.
Designing and building with CLT is reinvigorating the timber industry in the Pacific Northwest, boosting the regional economy and forging connections between urban and rural communities.
CLT is lighter than steel or concrete, and requires less energy to produce, transport and assemble.
The Radiator, the first mass-timber building of its scale built in a century.
CLT is also stronger than steel or concrete. It’s produced by gluing small beams of wood together in perpendicular layers to create sturdy, stable boards up to a foot thick.
Wood is actually more fire resistant than steel or concrete. Its natural tendency to char on the outside creates a protective seal, preventing the inner layers of wood from burning.
CLT is one of the most seismically resilient building materials available. The joints between CLT boards allow buildings to dissipate energy efficiently, minimizing structural damage during an earthquake.
See how we used CLT in Carbon12, the tallest CLT building in the United States.
Wood infuses spaces with a warm, welcoming feel.
Designing and building with wood connects urban spaces with the natural environment.
Wood gives architects and designers new creative opportunities to design spaces people love.
See how wood adds warmth and a modern feel to The Canyons, our senior housing concept.
Our projects are helping raise awareness of the CLT’s beauty and benefits. See how leading organizations and publications have covered our work.