Reporter Bob Berwyn’s article, ‘Timber Cities Might Decarbonize the World,’ summarizes recent research from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research showing that proper land management and the construction of compact, walkable cities built with mid-rise mass timber buildings, could reduce carbon emissions by up to 100 gigatons through 2100. Eliason and his colleague, RDH Climate Change Specialist Monte Paulsen, also indicate that wood construction alone wasn’t a feasible solution – decarbonization needs to be happening across the construction industry.
Larch Lab’s Eliason has been working on projects incorporating Mass Timber since 2003 – including the first dowel laminated timber building in Washington State. Along with potential ecological benefits, Mass Timber offers a number of others including reduced construction timelines, tighter construction, quieter constructions sites. It also pairs incredibly well with high performance standards such as Passivhaus. If you are interested in discussing how to build climate adaptive buildings and districts, please contact us.