Mass Timber Market Updates - Jan 2025 - Week Two

Uncover the groundbreaking advancements in sustainable architecture and construction as we explore the latest updates in mass timber. From the Ontario Building Code's revolutionary regulations enabling 18-story timber structures to the innovative design philosophy of the THU House in Vietnam, our podcast episode promises insights into how timber is reshaping urban landscapes across the globe. Join Paul Kremer as he takes you through a transformative journey in the world of mass timber construction, offering a glimpse into the future of eco-friendly architecture.

This episode celebrates the achievement of the Mass Timber Construction Journal reaching a 1.8 impact factor, a testament to the growing recognition of mass timber’s potential. We spotlight Paris’ remarkable 16-story timber tower by Land Architecture and REI Habitat as a beacon of urban revitalization and sustainability. Discover how multi-disciplinary collaboration fuels these projects and the importance of strategic planning in supply chains. Whether you’re interested in the architectural potential of timber or its environmental benefits, this episode is packed with inspiration for architects, builders, and sustainability enthusiasts alike. Don't miss out on the visual elements available on our LinkedIn feed for a richer understanding of these projects.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:59

Ladies and gentlemen, we are live. This is the moment you all have been waiting for. It's time for the global sensation, the one, the only, the undisputed heavyweight podcast in the world the Mass Timber Construction Podcast. And now here's Mark Ramblin, your host. Good morning, good afternoon or good evening wherever you are in the world today, welcome to the Master of the Construction Podcast, welcome to the second week in 2025. I hope that the new year is bringing you much joy and happiness. I hope, if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, you're enjoying the sun, surf, barbecues and good weather, and if you're in the northern hemisphere, I hope you're keeping warm, rugged up and out of the rain, wet, sleep, snow and cold. Thank you for joining us again in 2025. It is our 15th in a row. Don't forget to subscribe if you're new to the podcast and don't forget to like, comment, share, repost our content on social media and if you've got a manuscript for an academic research paper in mass timber construction, please submit it to our mass timber construction journal. We have just received news that we have hit 1.8 plus in the impact factor, which is a significant growth year on year from our humble beginnings at below 0.5. So great to have the impact factor up at 1.8, heading towards 2 and beyond.

Speaker 1: 2:54

Let's have a look at what's making news around the world this week in mass timber construction land, and the big news coming out of the Ontario Building Code is that, from January 1st, developers can now design encapsulated mass timber developments up to 18 stories. We have promoted these articles throughout the last two weeks and this is a significant step forward for the province to help the building sector build more homes faster with a cost-effective solution using biobased materials. The Ontario Building Code just came into effect and the dawn of 2025 ushers in a new eco-friendly alternative to the way to build for a sustainable built environment. So get your projects ready. Make sure you connect with people who are associated with mass timber construction so they can help you through. The supply chain is vitally, vitally important when it comes to creating projects. So work collaboratively. We work as a team. Multi-disciplinary teams achieve the best results in these projects.

Speaker 1: 3:57

And to paris now, and as well as providing Parisians with housing, the land architecture 16-story tower has also served as an experimental research project for the development of timber as a building material. Timber is a functional building material used in housing in Europe, and the question of can the city of Paris attain the same goals as other parts of Europe. Seven years ago, it tried to put into place an intelligence solution for potential template for future projects, and I'm pleased to say that the competition winners land architecture which is a 20 year old practice and REI habitat undertook to achieve the necessary density in the project, meeting the association's strict requirements and standards, and in parallel to this, they were able to rehabilitate the surroundings on the edge of Paris and gradually revitalize the area. So there's a double whammy win for the post-industrial neighborhood turning into something that's aesthetically pleasing and functional, as well as serving a purpose for carbon reductions. If you'd like to see more images, head to our LinkedIn feed. And hot on the heels of the news that Vietnam now has an association and has a beguining or beginning mass timber market, there is a project out of Ho Chi Minh City. The THU house was a residence located near the heart of the city and it has an expansive timber roof that shelters a constellation of living spaces. The design philosophy was a bold geometric form that asserts a carefully curated and framed setting that can change one's worldview and the atmosphere in a way that the design of this serene square courtyard, animated by dappled light and filtering through the tree canopies and the space, epitomizes the layered atmosphere of the humid tropics, using significant glulam timber structures as a functional aspect. If you'd like to have a look at this amazing timber waffle roof that shields the living spaces in this Vietnamese project, please head to our LinkedIn feed.

Speaker 1: 6:32

And a reminder that the 30% off saving for the International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, oregon, closed on Wednesday, the 8th of January, so I hope that if you did get in, you achieved this. If not, there will be probably one more call beforehand. We've got Arnie lined up to come on the podcast in the next week to talk about the program and the agenda that's coming through. Don't forget that you get a free copy of the 2025 International Mass Timber Report, free breakfast and lunch, coffee and tea and over 190 exhibitors, five educational tracks, including a day of case studies, and much, much, much more. Get your tickets now. The time is getting close to the end of march, when the conference will be on, and it would be great to have you all along and the big news out of wisconsin and milwaukee. Specifically, the neutral team has secured the 133 million for the construction of the downtown mass timber project. The Madison-based Neutral team announced a week ago that it had closed its banking finance for the work to be set up for construction to start in 2025. So we'll keep you posted as that project comes online. It's going to be very impressive.

Speaker 1: 7:43

And another thing that's going to stand tall in the northern part of the world. And that's it, folks. That's going to stand tall in the northern part of the world. And that's it, folks. That's what's making news around the world this week in mass timber construction land. Don't forget to like, subscribe, post, reshare, comment on our social media feed, get your journal manuscripts into our academic journal and don't forget to subscribe to this podcast and never miss an episode. We look forward to bringing you more news. Next week, arnie's coming up on the show talk about the international mass timber conference. We're very proud media partners for that particular event and we will catch you very, very soon. Good morning, good afternoon or good evening, wherever you are in the world. Today, this is Paul Kramer signing off on the Mass Timber Construction Podcast. So Thank you.