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Wood’s value for educational buildings has traditionally focused on cost, speed of construction, and environmental attributes such as carbon impact.
Now, with greater ability to incorporate exposed wood structure into building designs, there is a growing emphasis on wood’s biophilic properties and contribution to occupant well-being. Learn how wood-frame and mass timber construction can add value and distinction to your educational projects.
This paper examines two important durability challenges when designing wood-frame schools: areas of high traffic and high moisture. It also includes a discussion related to the durability of exposed heavy and mass timber elements.
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Three designers share about the use of wood in their educational projects.
Less Embodied Carbon + Stored Carbon = Lower Carbon Impact
According to Architecture 2030, buildings are responsible for nearly 40% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Embodied carbon—i.e., GHGs associated with materials and construction processes throughout the lifetime of a structure—accounts for about 11%, and most of this (9%) is related to the use of concrete, iron and steel.1 Embodied carbon, especially upfront emissions associated with manufacturing materials and constructing a building, can be significant. The upfront energy associated with a traditional non-wood building is roughly equal to the energy required to operate that same building for 17 years!
Mass Timber Modular & Portable Classrooms
Beyond aesthetics and sustainability, modular CLT construction allows for rapid assembly and minimal disruption to school schedules.
Washington State Mass Timber School Pilot Project
In 2016, Mahlum Architects designed the Washington State Mass Timber School Pilot Project applying an innovative, sustainable approach to classroom design that established cross-laminated timber (CLT) modular classrooms as a cost-competitive alternative to portable classrooms. Completed over a single summer, the project introduced four-classroom modules at each of five elementary school sites. The CLT was manufactured locally and is carbon-sequestering, supporting Washington’s sustainability goals.
In K-12 school gymnasiums and auditoriums, light-frame wood trusses, glulam beams, and mass timber panels are excellent choices for achieving the structural strength required for large, open spaces—allowing for long spans, typically ranging from 60 to 160 feet. Glulam beams can be engineered to handle substantial loads across wide spans and can be shaped for unique architectural forms.
Wood in Schools: Project Spotlights
Mass Timber: Santiam Canyon Junior/Senior High School Gym | Mill City, OR
Mass timber panels, beams, and columns are utilized in a simple structure with a sloped shed roof over the gym volume and clerestory windows at one end for daylighting. Read the case study.
Mass Timber: Franklin Elementary School | Franklin, WV
The first design-build school project for the state of West Virginia, and the first school in the U.S. to be built using CLT. Read the case study.
Mass Timber: Lakeridge Middle School | Lake Oswego, OR
Features a structural system upgraded to meet stringent Seismic Category IV requirements. Learn more.
Mass Timber: Common Ground High School | New Haven, CT
Type V-B, 15,000-square-foot addition using a combination of CLT and glulam.
Mass Timber: Washington Latin Public Charter School Gymnasium | Washington, DC
Type V-B project utilizing CLT and glulam
Innovative Light-Frame Wood: El Dorado High School | El Dorado, AR
The design team saved $2.7 million by switching from the original design to wood framing. Read the case study.
Innovative Light-Frame Wood: Blue Horizon Elementary School | Buckeye, AZ
98,443-square-foot project using light-frame, I-joists, and open-web trusses.
Light-Frame / Mass Timber Hybrid: Kiva Elementary School | Paradise Valley, AZ
Type V-B, 76,962-square-foot project using glulam, structural composite lumber (LVL, LSL), I-joists, and open-web trusses.
Light-Frame / Mass Timber Hybrid: Common Ground High School | New Haven, CT
Type V-B, 15,000-square-foot addition utilizing a combination of CLT and glulam.
Light-Frame / Mass Timber Hybrid: Washington Latin Public Charter School Gymnasium | Washington, DC
Type V-B, 11,300-square-foot gym featuring CLT and glulam
Light-Frame / Mass Timber Hybrid: Thaden School | Bentonville, AR
Type V-B, 34,000-square-foot dining hall and common space utilizing glulam and light-frame wood
Detailed guidance on specific aspects of wood design and construction, plus inventories of fire and acoustically-tested assemblies.
View Guides, Manuals & Inventories
Hundreds of searchable details for mass timber and light wood-frame buildings.
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Calculate height and area options or estimate your project’s wood carbon footprint.
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US Forest Service Wood Innovation Report by Mahlum Architects
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Report by Mithun's Research and Development Initiative in partnership with Bayley Construction and PCS Structural Engineers
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