Mass Timber Construction Podcast
Mass Timber Construction Podcast
Mass Timber Market Updates - Jan 2025 - Week Three
Discover the pulse of the mass timber industry with Paul Kremer as we showcase the transformative potential of sustainable building solutions. This week, we're honored to have Arnie join us for a deep dive into the upcoming International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, Oregon. Get a sneak peek into the exciting symposiums, innovative exhibitors, and enriching workshops, while also taking advantage of some enticing early bird offers. It's a can't-miss opportunity for anyone passionate about the future of construction and sustainable design.
Join us as we explore some of the most groundbreaking projects making waves in the mass timber world. From Walmart's innovative corporate office in Bentonville to the ambitious Stockholm Wood City project in Sweden, these ventures are setting new standards in sustainable architecture. We also spotlight a reimagined community park on Norway's west coast and Melbourne's awe-inspiring Westgate Tunnel Project. Plus, get the latest scoop from BAU in Germany, where timber engineering innovations are taking center stage. Tune in for a comprehensive look at the projects and people shaping the future of mass timber construction.
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 Paul Ramos, your host. Good morning, good afternoon or good evening wherever you are in the world today. Welcome to the Mass Timber Construction Podcast and welcome to week three in 2025.
Speaker 1:I hope that your new year is going smoothly and that your new year's resolutions are still intact. I know I didn't make any, so I don't have anything to complain about. Thank you for subscribing. Make sure that you like comment or reshare any of our content. Make sure if you've got a journal manuscript, you can put it into our academic arm. And we have a very special announcement. We had Arnie on the podcast this week to talk about the International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, oregon. 25 to 27 in March in Portland in Oregon, in the United States. If you want to hear what's actually happening some of the great symposiums, some of the amazing exhibitors and some workshops and the way that the programs come together please listen to that podcast episode. Don't forget to get your early bird rates in now. There's still one, I think maybe two special offers beforehand before you get too much, and make sure that you listen to that episode so that you can catch up on all the goings on around the International Mass Timber Conference.
Speaker 1:Let's have a look at what's making news around the world this week in mass timber construction land, and the first news is that Walmart has celebrated the opening of its first phase of its 350-acre home office campus in Bentonville last Friday, which is just Friday just gone. Walmart's corporate office was actually produced from mass timber construction, the global retailer generating $468 billion last financial year. Campus design was focused on comprehensive associated wellness, which includes a 360-square-foot Walton Family Health Center and Fitness Center, as well as an on-site childcare, which opened last year. According to press releases, you can catch up with people from Walmart on the International Mass Timber Conference circuit when you listen to one of the education tracks where they're talking about that project. Google are coming along, microsoft are coming along, so if you want to hear about these real world big projects that actually do happen, please get to Portland in March and we will be able to speak more about it from there.
Speaker 1:And Swedish property developer Atrium Ljungberg describes the largest mass timber project in the world on the outskirts of Sweden's capital construction as the Stockholm Wood City, which began in October, several months ahead of its schedule, and it's going to provide 2,000 new homes by 2027. So the yellow cranes are hanging overhead. The former industrial park is being transformed and this is Stockholm's biggest real estate project using mass timber construction. If you want to check out some of the latest news around the wooden city, please head to the LinkedIn feed. Wooden city please head to the linkedin feed.
Speaker 1:And the newly unveiled community park in norway's west coast is redefining public spaces through innovative, sustainable design. The collaborative effort between the architectural studios in the region and the 2000 square meter activity hub epitomizes the rural schools and how they can evolve into vibrant civic centers. The park is part of the Vestlands County program aimed at transforming public schools into multi-purpose community spaces using recycled aluminium, using mass timber and using other components, and including local hydro plant that generates the building from a sustainable energy source. If you'd like to check out more around this community park that's unveiled in norway, you can head to our linkedin feed and to australia and melbourne. Specifically, in a place called yarraville in melbourne, and cpb contractors Stag Timber and our good friends Mario Savva and crew at Savcon have been working on the Westgate Tunnel Project, which has these impressive glue laminated structures which are being assembled as part of this design that sits on this particular tunnel project. If you'd like to see some impressive photos, you can head to our LinkedIn feed or go to Savcon and have a look at their project progression photos.
Speaker 1:And, of course, what would the world would be without BAU in Germany that has been running this past week? I don't know how many posts I've seen come through around timber, timber engineering, connection systems, structural systems, waterproofing systems. There is just an abundance and way too much to report on this podcast, but be sure to check out all the posts coming from BAL in Germany this year, from the big fairs, and make sure that you head to our LinkedIn feed and you'll be able to see many that we've shared as well, including the Dovetail X-Fix, which is featured in our talk with Jorgen in regards to the way that they're designing and building buildings without steel fixings in Norway. Okay, so that's it, folks. That's all we've got time for this week in mass timber construction land.
Speaker 1:Don't forget to get your tickets booked for the International Mass Timber Conference. I also are a reminder for all university students who are looking to create an impact with your mass timber associated research. There is poster presentations that you can submit to. They are closing this week. So if you are listening and you are involved in education in any way and you want to put a poster in, get them in as soon as you possibly can, because they need to be assessed, then they need to be accepted, then you need to create them, then you need to get to Portland or you need to send them on with somebody else. This is a great opportunity for people to showcase and I have met many students who have become colleagues over the years from being in the poster presentation from the very first International Mass Timber Conference and the second one to this very day, and you build lifelong friends in the mass timber community. It is a fraternity of people who have a vested interest in transforming the way that we build and build for the future in a better way.
Speaker 1:It is a pleasure to bring you the news each week. Don't forget to subscribe. Don't forget to like, comment, share, post anything on our LinkedIn or social media feed, get your journal manuscripts in. For our academic journal, we hit 1.841 as an impact factor. We keep growing. We're going to break two next year. I can tell we're getting there. We're getting growing. We're going to break two next year. I can tell we're getting there. We're getting close, we're continuing to move forward. Good morning, good afternoon or good evening. It's Paul Kramer signing off on the Mass Timber Construction Podcast, so Thank you.