Mass timber engineering facilities: New findings on capabilities, advantages, and caveats

Mass timber now figures prominently in sustainability and carbon reduction initiatives, but does this material help or hamper facilities housing advanced programs in artificial intelligence, robotics, energy, and materials science? Scott Ashford and Libby Ramirez chart Oregon State University’s journey from skepticism to confidence in the use of mass timber for the Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex, which will house team-based transdisciplinary research and teaching groups, an NVIDIA supercomputer, a cleanroom, and advanced science, teaching, and prototyping labs. They highlight key performance specifications to factor into decision-making and designs including vibration, heat, acoustics, finishes, and user experience, the additional sustainability features being adopted, and the anticipated impact on campus carbon targets.