Page 20 - Georgia Forestry - Issue 1 - Winter 2022

A Forest Carbon Program for All American Landowners

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the outside. I think that’s important, especially now, where folks have been trapped indoors. Building with timber is a great option to bridge that disconnect.”
Indeed, 111 Ann Street’s design and aesthetics celebrate wood every chance they get. In addition to glulam posts and beams, Harder shares, the apartments’ floors, roofs and all sheer vertical com- ponents will be composed of CLT.
EARLY ADOPTERS LEARN AS THEY GO
Harder admits that the path to this build was an extreme challenge. Being an early mass timber adopter means learning as you go, a much earlier commitment on the part of the developer and even more intense coordination between all team members than usual since there’s no margin for error when it comes to assem- bling giant, prefabricated panels of CLT.
For this project, the CLT was shipped from Austria. With U.S.-based CLT man- ufacturers still few and far between, going overseas was the best option.
“In time, it’ll be easier,” Harder says with assurance. “This is a monumental task, going head first into a new con- struction type. It’s a big deal and some folks want to see others get their feet wet first. I think as people see more timber buildings that are alive, as they become more familiar with it, everyone will be more comfortable with that. They’re seeing, this can be done and here’s the story behind it.”
In other words, the more 111 Ann Streets that begin to emerge, the more opportunities there will be for builders and designers to learn from tangible examples and for investors to see their success and buy in. Then more U.S.- based mass timber plants will begin cropping up to meet demand.
Parsons notes that much attention is given to flashy mass timber buildings in large cities and virtually every cor- porate headquarters in Silicon Valley. But WoodWorks, which worked with LS3P Associates on its Savannah build- ing, is seeing significant commitment to humbler mass timber projects in other small cities and suburbs. Once again, the pandemic had a hand in this development by inspiring thousands of remote workers to migrate from big, expensive cities.
“Smaller cities are becoming more dense and they’re looking to wood,” he says. “As one example, WoodWorks just placed a regional director in the Kansas City area, where we’re seeing some

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18 | GEORGIA FORESTRY