Mass Timber

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Mass timber buildings are cropping up across North America, along with factories that manufacture these versatile, sustainable, engineered wood building materials. That’s because mass timber offers a compelling suite of benefits. Manufacturing mass timber can play an important role in achieving forest health management goals, contribute to rural economic development, and provide new opportunities in the manufacturing sector. For the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, building with mass timber can reduce project construction times and costs, reduce construction crew sizes and equipment needs, and create beautiful buildings that people love to work, learn, and live in. Made from a renewable resource, mass timber is less carbon-intensive to produce than other common building materials; plus, these wood materials store carbon absorbed by trees, keeping it out of the atmosphere where it would contribute to climate change.

Michigan State University is at the forefront of efforts to realize these benefits in Michigan and the Great Lakes Region. MSU built the state’s first mass timber building – the STEM Teaching and Learning Facility – on the site of the former Shaw Lane Power Plant, adjacent to Spartan Stadium. The two new mass timber wings provide 117,000 square feet of modern teaching labs and collaboration space.

MassTimber@MSU leverages lessons learned from building the STEM facility, along with research, education, outreach, communications, policy, and partnerships to advance sustainable mass timber construction and manufacture in Michigan and the surrounding region.

In addition, faculty in the Department of Forestry and School of Planning, Design and Construction are developing mass timber adhesives made from lignin, tools to predict construction costs and timelines for mass timber buildings, and mass timber made from salvaged lumber content in mass timber in service of MassTimber@MSU’s mission.

Top Stories

MassTimber@MSU Director Presents on Mass Timber at MI Legislative Roundtable

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Michigan Senator Ed McBroom hosted the Economic Development and Land-Based Industry Roundtable in Houghton for select Michigan legislators. MassTimber@MSU Director Sandra Lupien presented on the growing mass timber momentum around Michigan while Michigan Technological University faculty talked about their work developing mass timber products from Michigan hardwoods.

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Take a 3D Tour of the Mass Timber MSU STEM Building

MassTimber@MSU worked with Lansing-based Orange Lemur Photography to make it possible for you to see the building from the comfort of your home.

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WILX: “MSU Builds the Foundation for Mass Timber in Michigan”

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MassTimber@MSU’s Sandra Lupien and George Berghorn take WILX’TV’s Nicole Buchmann on a tour of the MSU STEM Teaching and Learning Facility to highlight the myriad benefits of mass timber.

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Michigan State University awarded $650k National Science Foundation Grant to Develop Mass Timber Curriculum

The National Science Foundation recently awarded Michigan State University a grant to develop mass timber design and construction curriculum! The project team will use the funding to expand the capacity of mass timber projects nationwide, increase access to the technology, and train a mass timber design and construction workforce to increase mass timber adoption in the US.

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News

Team Spotlight - Hope Bennethum

Published on September 30, 2022
Meet Hope Bennethum, our Communications and Outreach Student Assistant for Mass Timber at MSU. Learn more about the team member behind our social media platforms, and segments like this team spotlight.
View a Life Cycle Analysis of the MSU STEM Facility

Published on September 28, 2022
Master of Construction Management student, Shreya Garad, conducted a case study in collaboration with her advisory, Dr. George Berghorn, and presented this poster at the International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, Oregon, April 12-14, 2022.
Team Spotlight - Dr. Richard Kobe

Published on September 23, 2022
Meet Dr. Richard Kobe, Chairperson and Professor, Department of Forestry. In this week's spotlight feature, learn more about Dr. Kobe and his experience with mass timber as apart of our team.
MassTimber@MSU Research Director Featured on Oregon Public Radio Segment

Published on September 21, 2022
George Berghorn, Research Director for MassTimber@MSU, joins Sheraz Sadiq on Oregon Public Radio to speak on Mass Timber.
Team Spotlight - Ichchha Thapa

Published on September 16, 2022
Meet Ichchha Thapa, a Doctoral Student in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. She is our spotlight feature of the week! Read her segment to learn more about her experience as apart of the team, and the work she does for mass timber.