jose machuca, associate principal, holmes

Date: January 13, 2023

Lecture Title: Microsoft Silicon Valley – Designing One of North America’s Largest Mass Timber Buildings

Beginning with conceptual design in 2015, Microsoft’s Silicon Valley Campus was completed in the Summer of 2021.  The 640,000 square foot campus re-envisioned Microsoft’s workplace to foster a sustainable workplace community.  In this presentation we will provide an overview of some of the lessons learned through the design and construction of one of North America’s largest Mass Timber buildings.

Recording of lecture here.

Mateo Gutierrez, Structural Engineer, AKD Softwoods

Date: January 20, 2023

Lecture Title: Development of a mass timber solution with Tasmanian plantation hardwoods

To validate the possibility of utilising the vast volumes of plantation hardwood available in Tasmania, Cusp performed significant research and development to understand the structural properties of plantation Eucalyptus nitens to create the world-first commercial CLT made of Australian hardwood plantations. This presentation will take you through this research and product development journey to overcome issues such as fibre characteristics, sawing, drying, gluing, testing and modelling. The results presented in this study establish the baseline for the commercial use of Australian plantation hardwood CLT in structural applications such as floors and roofs in commercial and residential buildings.
Recording of lecture here.

Angela Solarte, fire engineer, arup

date: february 10, 2023

Lecture Title: Understanding the importance of fire safe mass timber buildings

Due to the multiple advantages of engineered wood products, we are competing to build the tallest mass timber building. However, it is critical to understand how the inclusion of timber elements in compartments will change the development of a fire and how we need to design for fire safe timber buildings. This presentation will share some of the research that has been developed to understand how to design for safe mass timber buildings.

Recording of lecture here.

lisa petterson, principal, srg partnership

date: february 17, 2023

Lecture Title: Fulfilling a promise - Oregon State University Cascades

OSU-Cascades’ latest campus developments deliver on the university’s commitment to education in Central Oregon and demonstrate visionary leadership in flexible, resilient construction through innovation and amalgamation of wholistic solutions. Our recent work at OSU-Cascades expands OSU’s programs, with lessons for net-zero energy implementation, use of mass timber, site reclamation and restoration and campus building, achieved through a collaborative process.

Recording of lecture here.

lauren wingo, Senior Structural Engineer, arup

Denis Blount, associate principal, arup

date: march 3, 2023

Lecture Title: Integrative timber design: Arup project experience

Arup utilizes its integrative design approach to solve technical challenges related to timber construction. This presentation will provide several case studies highlighting the need for integrative timber design. As the first fully exposed, high rise timber structure in the US, 80 M Street required a novel fire engineering approach to the exposed timber structure. Additional design aspects included an integrated assembly for structural, acoustical, and vibration performance. The 2nd half of the presentation will focus on the acoustic design considerations for mass timber buildings, including several case studies, design concepts and challenges, and cutting-edge research and design tools.

Recording of lecture here.

Kate Carrigg, Regional Director | OR, ID-South, HI, woodworks

date: march 10, 2023

Lecture Title: Tall Mass Timber: Code Provisions, Structural, and Serviceability Considerations

Mass timber products opened the door to many new opportunities for sustainable construction, and the introduction of three new construction types in the 2021 International Building Code have created exciting new possibilities for tall mass timber buildings. This presentation will introduce tall mass timber construction types and take a detailed look at several critical structural design and construction topics for tall timber buildings, including prescriptive and alternative options for lateral force-resisting systems, gravity design of CLT panels, and serviceability considerations (deflections, vibrations, and differential material movements).  Unlike other types of construction where the structure is concealed, mass timber framing components are often left exposed to act as the architectural finish.  They play a key role in meeting acoustical and fire resistance rating requirements in addition to acting as the building’s structure.

Recording of lecture here.