Mass
Timber
CLT, glulam, and mass timber structural systems — from fire design and long-term performance to the tallest timber buildings in the world.
Mass timber has undergone a remarkable transformation from a niche material to a mainstream structural system capable of competing with concrete and steel in multi-storey construction. LoadBearing tracks the full arc of this evolution — from the laboratory research establishing long-term performance data, to the code changes enabling taller timber buildings, to the completed projects proving the system's viability in practice.
Mass Timber Articles
Mass Timber High-Rises Exceed 100 Worldwide
A new report from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat counts 103 mass timber buildings above 12 storeys completed or under construction globally.
CLT Long-Term Creep: New Research Challenges Eurocode 5 Assumptions
University of Bath 10-year field study finds that current kdef factors underestimate long-term deflections in 7-ply CLT by up to 18%.
Ascent MKE at Three Years: Post-Occupancy Performance Data Released
Floor vibration, acoustic performance, and creep measurements from the world's tallest mass timber building confirm design predictions.
Fire Design for Exposed Timber: The Case for Char-Based Approaches
A review of fire test data supporting the use of unencapsulated heavy timber in buildings up to 24 storeys under IBC 2027 provisions.
Engineered Timber Connections: Solving the Weak Link in Mass Timber Structures
New self-tapping screw configurations and concealed plate systems are addressing the connection ductility gap in mass timber seismic design.
Carbon Accounting for Mass Timber: Biogenic Carbon and the Debate
How structural engineers should approach embodied carbon calculations for timber structures amid ongoing scientific debate over biogenic carbon accounting.
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