But a lack of knowledge remains a barrier to wider mass adoption of wood, Berghorn said. To that end, the university recently received a $650,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency that funds scientific research, to develop a model National model for building program and block timber design for architecture, engineering and construction programs.
Clemson University in South Carolina was granted $1.1 million by the Department of Energy to help expand the use of block timber. Researchers there are developing a flooring system made of laminated wood panels that can stretch about 40 feet, double current industry practice. They are also looking at ways to match the system to other building components, such as ductwork and electrical conduit.
Such an all-in-one system would reduce the need for multiple structural beams and potentially speed up construction, says Dustin Albright, assistant director of the university’s School of Architecture.
“We wanted to give an all-in-one approach to the flooring system that allows for flexibility in accessing and accessing those components, but doing it in an all-wooden way,” he says.
Clemson has two block timber buildings on its main campus: the Samuel J. Cadden Chapel and the Andy Quattlebaum Outdoor Education Center, using Southern golden pine. The researchers installed wireless vibration and humidity sensors at the recreation center, to be completed in 2020, to collect data on the building’s long-term performance.
Many universities are studying the viability of local production. Ms. Lupien said the State of Michigan is monitoring demand for block timber and analyzing what the entire supply chain might look like, in order to provide that information to potential manufacturers.
At the University of Maine, landowners, architects, timber manufacturers, and construction companies share information through the Maine Mass Timber Trade Center, in the hope of eventually creating the business case. for the production of laminated timber.
