NYC teams up with key industry players to boost mass timber use

by arslan_ahmed | October 3, 2023 2:32 pm

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New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has launched the New York City Mass Timber Studio, a technical assistance program to support active mass timber development projects in the early phases of project planning and design.

The studio will be operated by NYCEDC and the Mayor’s Office for Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ), in collaboration with the USDA Forest Service and the Softwood Lumber Board, with technical assistance from WoodWorks, and advisory support from the American Institute of Architects New York (AIA) and the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB).

The studio is currently accepting applications for design teams to support project-specific mass timber analysis and design work. Grants of $25,000 will be awarded to selected teams to conduct design, technical, and economic feasibility assessments for mass timber.

The goals of the NYC Mass Timber Studio include:

• Raise public awareness of the carbon and economic benefits of mass timber construction.
• Connect design teams and city actors interested in advancing the use of mass timber.
• Introduce more practitioners to the details and feasibility of mass timber construction.
• Identify development opportunities resulting in new building and infrastructure projects constructed with mass timber in the city.
• Identify the potential for new business and job creation through the expansion of mass timber construction.

Studio activities are anticipated to begin in 2024 and run for a duration of approximately nine months, during which design teams will regularly meet with Woodworks and the DOB for technical assistance and advisory support.

In April 2023, New York City Mayor Adams’ released “PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done,” the city’s strategic climate plan. PlaNYC reinforces NYC’s leading efforts in clean construction by requiring the city’s capital project agencies to commit to actions that will lower embodied carbon, which are greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of building materials.

The NYC Mass Timber Studio builds off PlaNYC by expanding the use of mass timber, building materials composed of engineered wood products, including reducing embodied carbon emissions for new buildings, infrastructure, and major retrofits.

“When DOB made changes to the city’s timber construction regulations during our most recent Code revision cycle, we elevated sustainable construction materials by opening the door for cross-laminated timber (CLT) and other mass timber building projects throughout the five boroughs,” said NYC buildings commissioner, Jimmy Oddo. “With the opening of the New York City Mass Timber Studio, our partners at EDC and MOCEJ are now ushering the construction industry through that open door, providing needed support so that more eco-friendly timber projects can go from lines on paper to shovels in the ground.”

Source URL: https://www.constructionspecifier.com/nyc-teams-up-with-key-industry-players-to-boost-mass-timber-use/

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