College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Mass Timber

I joined Michigan State University in July 2021 as Director of MassTimber@MSU, a program that mobilizes outreach, communication, research, and education to advance mass timber construction and manufacture in Michigan and the surrounding region. The program, a collaboration among MSU’s Department of Forestry; School of Planning, Design, and Construction; and Extension receives support and partnership from Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. I’ve met a lot of wonderful folks over the past half-year and am excited by how much interest I’m seeing in building with and manufacturing mass timber in Michigan. I’m pleased to provide a few updates.

MSU Opens First Mass Timber Building in Michigan, Wins Award!

A beautiful building featuring a glue-laminated and cross-laminated timber and steel hybrid structural system, MSU’s STEM Teaching and Learning Facility opened to awed students and the public in July. People love this building. Students exclaim, “I don’t even have classes in here, but I spend all my time in this building because I love it!” or, “I just want to hug this wood like a tree.” Made with about 3,000 cubic meters of Forest Stewardship Council-certified Black Spruce, the building earned MSU and its five STEM building project partners a 2021 Forest Stewardship Council Leadership Award. Want to see for yourself? Take a walk through the building at 642 Red Cedar Road – stay awhile and enjoy a cup of coffee from the café. If you have a group that would like a tour, just send me an email and we’ll get you scheduled.

Review/Comment on Mass Timber Recommendations

The five workgroups created to advise the Governor’s Council on Climate Solutions recently submitted their recommendations, developed through a multi-stakeholder, collaborative, months-long process. The Council and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) are now reviewing the recommendations. Two sets of recommendations – Buildings and Housing, and Natural and Working Lands – feature robust recommendations that, if adopted, would significantly help advance mass timber construction and manufacture in Michigan. The Council and EGLE will consider public comments submitted by mid-January as they decide what to include in the Michigan Healthy Climate Plan.

To comment on the Buildings and Housing recommendations, see page 9, item 3, and email comments to: EGLE-BuildingsHousingClimate@Michigan.gov.

To comment on the Natural and Working Lands recommendations (mass timber items appear throughout), email EGLE-NWLForestClimate@Michigan.gov.

If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at the email in the byline to this update.

 Mass Timber Webinars Continue 

In August, MassTimber@MSU joined the Michigan Forest Biomaterials Council (mifbi) as co-producer of the ongoing (near-monthly) Mass Timber Webinars series. We’ll have a great program in 2022 and you can find information about upcoming webinars and links to past webinars at https://www.canr.msu.edu/masstimber/Events-and-Trainings/.

Join us for the International Mass Timber Conference
We are organizing a Michigan contingent the International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, Oregon April 12 – 14, which is the premiere U.S. mass timber event of the year. If you plan to attend, contact me at the email address in the byline of this update so we can coordinate details. Register before January 19 for early-bird discounts – especially if you want to participate in the mass timber building tours – they’re inspiring but fill up fast! The presentations, workshops, exhibit spaces, and networking opportunities are invaluable as well, so I hope you’ll consider joining us to expand Michigan’s collective mass timber knowledge.

How to Connect with MassTimber@MSU
In 2022 we’ll launch a MassTimber@MSU email list where we’ll deliver (at least) quarterly updates as well as occasional time-sensitive items and opportunities. If you’d like to join, please email me at lupiensa@msu.edu so I can capture your contact information to ensure you’re on the list when we launch.

In the meantime, please follow us at www.canr.msu.edu or on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, where we share fresh content almost every day about educational opportunities, exciting mass timber projects, information for industry professionals, and more.

As we prepare to move into 2022, I look forward to talking with you about your interest in mass timber, to collaborating with you in support of your projects and goals. Wishing you a rejuvenating end to 2021 and a very Happy New Year.