Mass Timber Competition awards $2.2 million in funding to five winning designs

Five projects were honored in Chicago recently as part of the 2023 Mass Timber Competition: Building to Net-Zero Carbon, hosted by the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) and USDA Forest Service (USDA).

A total of $2.2 million in funding was given out to winners of this year’s contest. Technical evaluations were carried out by the competition’s nonprofit partner WoodWorks, with a jury comprised of LEVER Principal Chandra Robinson and eight others choosing the winners. 

Each architectural team will share the design and construction insights of their projects for the greater benefit of the industry. The competition’s organizers said each “exemplified new ways to design and construct mass timber buildings in the U.S. at higher scale.”

“As wildfires become more prevalent across the United States, a stronger supply chain for lumber and mass timber improves forest health and supports the construction of low carbon buildings — both effective ways to mitigate the impacts of climate change,” John Crockett, the USDA Forest Service’s Associate Deputy Chief of State, said in a statement.

This year’s winners are:

CODA Detroit
Building Type: Mixed-Use Residential
Project Team: OOMBRA Architects, Brush Park Properties / IN Development Partners, JDH Engineering, Britt Peters and Associates, and AM Higley

Up@310 Lofts
Project Type: Vertical Addition
Project Team: Lignin Group, Tim Olson, Banwell Architects, 310 Marlboro St., and Entuitive

The Village SF Wellness Center
Building Type: Mixed Use
Project Team: PYATOK architecture + urban design, The Friendship House Association of American Indians, DCI Engineers, and Cahill Contractors

Via/NWA IC Program
Building Type: Affordable Multifamily Housing
Project Team: A226, Blue Crane, Modus Studio, Tatum-Smith-Welcher, Aspect Structural Engineers, and Arco Construction

Woolsey Gardens
Building Type: Mid-Rise Multifamily
Project Team: Solomon Cordwell Buenz, Northern California Land Trust, Tipping Structural Engineers, Swinerton Builders, and Timberlab