U.S. Army Paves Way for Mass Timber Use

As a result of AWC’s continuous engagement with the Department of Defense (DoD) and U.S. Congress over the last few years, and as directed by the AWC supported National Defense Authorization Act language, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has begun a groundbreaking partnership with Composite Recycling Technology Center (CRTC) designed to pave the way for additional usage of mass timber with DoD.

“Mass timber has a lot of momentum in the Army right now,” said Dr. Pete Stynoski, research civil engineer at ERDC in a recent U.S. Army Corps press release. “This project is trying to enable wider sourcing of Class IV materials for more resilient structures in both everyday use and in contested logistics scenarios.”

The article cited both the speed of construction and the environmental benefits mass timber provides over other traditional building materials.

AWC will continue to encourage federal agencies, including the DoD, to adopt mass timber and wood construction as they look to reduce costs to the taxpayer and reduce carbon in the built environment.