The US Army Corps of Engineers is requiring a mass timber structural option to be considered at the design stage of all of its vertical construction projects going forward. Source: Woodworking Network
The US Army Corps of Engineers released an Engineering and Construction Bulletin (ECB) that outlines a new policy requiring the consideration of mass timber as a structural option for all vertical construction projects undertaken for all Army and civil works projects.
The ECB, entitled Mandatory Consideration of Mass Timber in Army Military Construction (MILCON) and Civil Works Vertical Construction Projects, “requires all Army MILCON and Civil Works vertical construction projects to consider at least one option where mass timber is a substantial structural component when comparing structural systems during early design.”
The Engineering News-Record reported that the Engineer Research and Development Centre (ERDC) in Jackson, Miss., has been investigating mass timber and CLT’s use in military construction for most of the last two decades, and in 2021 the Dept. of Defence in 2021 published a report on using mass timber and cross-laminated timber in military construction projects.
Robert Moser, senior scientific technical manager at the ERDC, told the News-Record, “In support of Administration and Army priorities, the USACE is leaning in to further advance its long-standing efforts in high-performance and sustainable buildings with a focus on low embodied carbon construction materials,” said Robert Moser, senior scientific technical manager, at the Army Corps Engineer Research and Development Centre (ERDC).
“This includes reducing the global warming potential of construction materials such as concrete, steel, and asphalt along with an emphasis on bio-based building materials like mass timber.”
The new directive states that not all projects are appropriate for the use of mass timber, “If the use of mass timber increases square footage beyond an Army Standard gross square footage limitation, mass timber should not be considered for the project,” the EVC states.
According to the EBC: “Mass timber is gaining momentum as a low-carbon alternative to energy-intensive structural materials, such as steel and concrete. It is a widely accepted solution to lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the built environment and, if disposed sustainably, can sequester more carbon than released during its life cycle. Like heavy timber, mass timber products have inherent fire resistance that allows them to be left exposed and still achieve a fire-resistance rating. Other benefits of mass timber construction include pleasing aesthetics, and ease and speed of construction while becoming increasingly available nationwide.
“Presentations have been facilitated documenting the successes and lessons learned from the Candlewood Suites hotels at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, to a cross-section of groups and disciplines within USACE. USACE also published technical notes for both CLT in January 2016 and NLT in April 2019 to promulgate knowledge of these technologies, and the most advantageous building types and geographic regions for their utilization.”
