The forestry industry is one of Georgia’s top economic drivers. More than 140,000 people are directly or indirectly employed in forestry and those wages and salaries tally to nearly $9 billion, according to the Georgia Forestry Foundation (GFF). The industry is spread across the state as well, with 47 counties ranked as “critically dependent” on the forest industry. As such an important industry in the state, finding new and innovative uses for products can serve as critical strategies for economic growth.
The latest innovation and a potential game-changer for Georgia and sustainable construction is “mass timber” – a type of wood product that is allowing for sustainable wood construction in sizes that were previously thought of as out of bounds for timber. Mass timber is basically multiple wood panels fastened together, generally nailed or glued, which offer strength and stability, as well as a low-carbon alternative, to concrete or steel. Code changes in the last couple years have allowed wood construction for taller buildings, up to 18 stories tall.
In Georgia, the first locally-grown and manufactured mass timber building is currently under construction at Ponce City Market by Jamestown Properties. Last month, Jamestown and the GFF celebrated a ceremonial topping out of the building as a showpiece for the future of this type of construction. The event was attended by some 100 people from across the construction and timber industries.
To show off the new material, Jamestown has installed a pop-up structure on the ground floor of Ponce City Market for people to see it up close and feel it. The new building 619 Ponce is adjacent to the pop-up and will be completed later this year. It includes 87,000 square feet for offices and 27,000 square feet for retail.
“I am focused on designing structures that use natural materials and bring the outdoors inside. Mass timber offers a way to do that both structurally and aesthetically. And as the use of mass timber in construction increases, Georgia has a real opportunity be on the leading edge,” said Bill de St. Aubin, owner of the Sizemore Group, an architecture firm that prides itself on sustainable practices.
As the push for sustainability and climate-aware construction increases, carbon is increasingly something considered in construction. Architects, developers and engineers are all incentivized to find carbon-free or carbon limiting materials and mass timber offers similar ability with the benefit of sustainability.
“Mass timber is an innovative engineered wood product with the same tensile strength of steel and concrete,” said the GFF in a statement. “These beautiful wood beams and panels unlock the potential to build mid- and high-rise structures with wood as the primary component, effectively turning our buildings into carbon sinks rather than carbon emitters.”
To see the “Seedlings to Solutions” materials from the GFF:
