See mass timber from the forest to the finished structure! Join the SEAO Sustainable Design Committee (SDC), AIA Oregon’s Committee on the Environment (COTE), and the Carbon Leadership Forum’s Portland Hub (CLF PDX) for a behind-the-scenes tour of the mass timber supply chain in Lyons, Oregon. The day will include a stop in a working forest to discuss sustainable forest practices, a tour of the Freres Mass Plywood manufacturing facility and warehouse, and conversations about how manufacturing and fabrication inform design, material efficiency, and constructability.
From Forest to Structure: Mass Timber Manufacturing, Design, and Construction
3 AIA LU|HSW Available or 3.0 PDH (SEAO members)
Registration Fee: $30 per person
Lunch: Lunch and refreshments will be provided. Please contact Jo Ann Offill with any dietary restrictions.
Transportation: Transportation to and from the Freres Mass Plywood Facility (40519 S Cedar Mill Rd, Lyons, OR) is not included with registration. Attendees are responsible for arranging their own transportation to the facility.
Interested in carpooling from Portland? Fill out this form.
A shuttle will be provided during the event to transport attendees between the Freres facility and the additional tour locations, including the working forest and mass timber warehouse.
For questions about the event, please contact Jo Ann Offill.
Follow the mass timber supply chain from forest management through manufacturing, fabrication, and construction during a tour of a working forest, mass timber manufacturing facility, and mass timber warehouse. Using the production of a veneer-based cross laminated timber product as an example, attendees will examine sustainable forest management practices and learn how manufacturing capabilities, fabrication constraints, product dimensions, and production processes can influence mass timber design and specification. The tour will demonstrate the value of early coordination among design teams, engineers, manufacturers, and fabricators to improve material efficiency, constructability, and building performance. A mass timber warehouse case study will highlight how structural design, engineering, material optimization, and code requirements can be integrated to reduce material use while achieving a safe, efficient, and code-compliant building.
Schedule - (subject to change)
10:30am Meet at Mass Ply Factory, Registration
10:50 AM Shuttle Leaves Freres Facility
11:05 AM Forest talk + Sack Lunch (Lunch Provided)
12:25 PM Return trip to factory
12:45 PM Factory Tour
2:15 PM Warehouse Tour
3:00 PM Final questions, refreshments (non-alcoholic beverages provided)
Learning Objectives
Evaluate how sustainable forest management practices—including forest regeneration, harvest planning, streamside and water-quality protection, erosion control, and restoration treatments—can support healthy, resilient forests while also contributing to healthy indoor environments for building occupants.
Identify how mass timber manufacturing and fabrication capabilities—including product dimensions, production processes, material characteristics, and fabrication constraints—can influence structural design, detailing, material efficiency, constructability, and building performance.
Explain how early collaboration among architects, engineers, manufacturers, fabricators, and contractors can inform material and structural system selection, improve design coordination, reduce material waste, and address constructability and performance requirements before fabrication.
Evaluate design and engineering strategies used in a mass timber warehouse incorporating CLT manufactured with structural composite lumber to optimize structural performance and material use while satisfying applicable building code and life-safety requirements.