Dive brief:
- New York City is making an offer become a national leader in massive wood construction with a technical assistance program launched in September which will support active projects in the early stages of planning and design.
- The “massive wood studio” will offer nine early design teams with subsidies from $25,000 each to conduct design, technical and economic feasibility assessments, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The NYCEDC manages the program in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice.
- There are now about a dozen buildings using solid wood in the city, and the program aims to overcome the construction industry’s current lack of technical know-how and fire safety issues with wood massive, the NYCEDC told Smart Cities Dive.
Diving knowledge:
New York City’s interest in solid wood is based on its climate goals to reduce embodied carbon—the greenhouse gas emissions associated with building materials. Building materials and construction are responsible 11% of global energy-related carbon emissions.
Much of the construction is based on high emission materials concrete i steel. But solid wood has emerged as a low-carbon alternative, with its own potential to be renewable and even store carbon taken from the atmosphere as the trees grow. Solid woodabbreviation of “solid wood”, is an umbrella term for engineered wood products that are created by joining smaller pieces of wood together.
Despite the benefits, “the jury is still out” on whether using more wood will contribute to or prevent more climate change, as the emissions and ecological impacts of wood they depend on where it comes from, according to a recent report by the US Green Building Council and the nonprofit research organization RMI. The report says that the construction industry will have to learn to distinguish between wood products with good and bad climate consequences.
The NYCEDC said its jurisdiction is within the five boroughs of New York City, but in order for solid wood to thrive in the city, “we need to think more holistically about a supply chain.” That’s why the “massive wood study” includes partners well-positioned to think about wood sourcing, including the U.S. Forest Service, the industry-funded Softwood Lumber Board, and non-profit WoodWorks, the NYCEDC said.
The NYCEDC told Smart Cities Dive that massive wood represents “tremendous untapped potential” to make a dent in New York City’s carbon footprint. Mass wood construction is also quieter, cleaner and can be about 25 percent faster than traditional construction because the materials are manufactured in advance and combined on site, the NYCEDC said.
Recent policy changes in the city attempt to tap into the potential of solid wood, with 2022 building code updates allowing solid wood buildings up to 85 feet tall. Also last year, Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order requiring the city’s capital project agencies to less embodied carbon from municipal construction projects.
The construction industry has “a lot of appetite” to use solid wood, but is unfamiliar with doing so, NYCEDC said. In particular, there is skepticism about the fire safety of solid wood, a lingering symptom of fires that broke out decades ago in wooden buildings, according to the NYCEDC. But the organization said so Solid wood is a completely different set of materials that is just as safe as concrete or steel.
Overcoming this hesitation is Solid wood studioThe goal, along with raising public awareness of the massive benefits of wood, connect design teams with city actors and identify the potential for new business and job creation through the massive expansion of wood construction, according to a press release.
