Forest Advocate: Mass Timber Construction Update

In a related update to our April story about mass timber building construction, the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine recently opened its second mass timber structure, a 12,000-square-foot residence hall named Collins Hall. The building will house 46 students.

The dedication of Collins Hall coincided with the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) announcement of the National Definition of a Zero Emissions Building. Under the rules, a zero emissions building must be energy efficient, free of onsite emissions from energy use, and powered solely from clean energy.

The ability of wood to store carbon in the long-term and the fact that manufacturing wood products requires less fossil fuels makes mass timber one way the country can meet the goals and guidance laid out in the DOE’s announcement.