EUGENE, Ore. — Addressing the housing crisis and improving forest resiliency through mass timber was the purpose of the meeting between Lane County commissioners and researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Oregon on Tuesday.
Mass timber itself, a shorthand for engineered wood products, has found increased usage across the state.
OSU’s Peavy Hall and PDX’s new roof are both made of mass timber – but county officials are now looking at how it can be used beyond just being a cool aesthetic.
“The utilization of the efficient and effective and sustainable building materials and building practices, it behooves us all to support you,” said Lane County Commissioner Pat Farr of District 4. “We’re looking for more front doors and the jobs associated with creating more front doors. So, you’ve got my support; let’s find ways for the county to support you in any way that we can because it really checks a lot of our boxes.”
Farr added that there’s one hurdle for mass timber usage in future housing developments – building codes.
Most modular housing that uses mass timber have thinner walls than what the county requires, but state law could provide a workaround.
“The work we’re doing on the panelized, doesn’t have the same as the zoning restrictions, because it’s basically field build. But the issue about the three-inch thing, in a way it’s easier in Oregon, because here, the state building authority can actually supersede local ones if there’s a compelling economic interest, which is how we really got the industry going here,” said Judith Sheine, director of design at Tallwood Design Institute.
For more information on mass timber, see our previous coverage here.