Mass timber is a form of construction timber that offers a variety of environmental and economic sustainable advantages. It can open the possibility of using local materials and manufacturing to improve the built environment on campus, around the state and beyond.  

Themed “Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future,” the University of Kentucky Mass Timber Week, Oct. 6-11, invites students, professionals and the community to learn about timber’s versatility through interactive seminars, an exhibit and more. 

“One of our goals this week is to slow down and explain what mass timber buildings are,” said Chad Niman, primary forest products specialist in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “Students and visitors will be able to see it, touch it and experience it through the exhibition and talks.” 

Activities will encourage participants to further their understanding by seeing, touching and hearing about mass timber. A 500 square-foot self-guided exhibit will be open Oct. 6-8 in the Gray Design Building. 

Students, faculty, staff and partners of the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR) will be encouraged to attend Monday morning’s talk. Monday afternoon and Tuesday’s noon time talk will be geared towards architecture and engineering students and community members. Finally, Tuesday evening will be catered to professionals, but open to anyone who is interested. 

Additionally, participants will learn how the utilization of hardwood for structural and support applications in cross-laminated timber (CLT), and the glulam beams that hold up the Robinson Wood Utilization Center, add value to the local economy and improves forestry management. This technology is not exclusive to Kentucky but is emerging as a highly viable option due to the state’s forest and abundance of yellow poplar, which just received approval for use in CLT panels this year.  

“This is a win-win-win — better forest management, stronger local economies and healthier buildings — and we don’t get many of those,” Niman said. 

Since 2017, mass timber has been a collaborative effort between the FNR Department in Martin-Gatton CAFE, the Department of Civil Engineering in the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering and the Department of Architecture in the UK College of Design. 

Attendance is cost-free and open; no prior registration is required. To learn more about mass timber visit https://kymasstimber.mgcafe.uky.edu/. 

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Writer: Zoey Ortega, zoey.ortega@uky.edu 

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