Wednesday, November 5, 2025
The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) and the USDA Forest Service have unveiled the winners of the highly anticipated 2025 Mass Timber Competition: Building Sustainable Schools. This critical program has allocated $1.8 million in funding to four distinctive projects across the United States, all dedicated to accelerating the use of mass timber—a low-carbon, renewable building material—within K-12 educational facilities. This third cycle of the competition specifically focused on the intersection of wood construction and educational well-being. The winning proposals demonstrate how incorporating biophilic design—the practice of connecting building occupants with nature—through exposed wood can foster healthier, more resilient learning spaces, ultimately impacting student academic performance and teacher and staff well-being.
Cees de Jager, President and CEO of the SLB, framed the awards as a strategic investment, stating that mass timber is not just a revolutionary building material but a “pathway to better learning and stronger communities.” He emphasized the material’s ability to support “academic achievement, teacher satisfaction, and long-term sustainability” by integrating natural design elements into the classrooms that shape the nation’s future.
Echoing this sentiment, John Crockett, USDA Forest Service Deputy Chief for State, Private, and Tribal Forestry, highlighted the symbiotic relationship between responsible forestry and community needs. “Sustainably harvested timber plays a critical role in improving the health and resilience of America’s forests, while providing the raw material for schools that inspire and uplift,” he said. These projects vividly illustrate how the economic and ecological benefits of mass timber flow directly from US forests into K-12 communities.
The four winning projects showcase diverse applications of mass timber technology, tackling challenges from urban density to disaster recovery and net-zero energy goals.
Faced with a highly constrained urban site, the project team will transform the existing campus into a modern facility for 1,700 students. The design features two four-story towers surrounding a central courtyard, connected by an elevated, mass timber-framed bridge. The majority of the structure will utilize Type-IV HT mass timber, a heavy timber construction type recognized for its fire resistance. Notably, the design incorporates Acoustic Dowel Laminated Timber (ADLT) for the floors, which cleverly eliminates the need for extensive acoustic ceiling tiles, leaving the beautiful, biophilic timber exposed in the classrooms.
This project is pioneering in its commitment to high-performance sustainability. Designed to be net-zero-ready and all-electric, the new elementary school is pursuing demanding Passive House performance and US-CHPS “Verified Leader” certification. The core structure is a mass timber system featuring Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) for floor and roof decks, supported by Glulam beams, girders, and columns. Exposing the timber in key communal areas like the library and café is a deliberate biophilic strategy to enhance wellness, maximize daylighting, and achieve significant carbon reduction goals.
Addressing the urgent need for new school capacity following the Lahaina wildfire and regional population growth, this middle school is designed as resilient community infrastructure. The facility will double as an emergency shelter, showcasing wood’s capacity for rapid, safe construction. The structural plan incorporates Glulam posts and beams with roof framing utilizing CLT, NLT (Nail-Laminated Timber), or DLT. This project demonstrates mass timber’s role in building sustainable, crisis-resilient educational and communal spaces in the Pacific region.
Whittier Elementary is planning a comprehensive net-zero renovation and expansion that will more than double its current space while preserving its historic main building. The new addition, which will house a library, STEM classrooms, and a gym, is exploring replacing its original steel-frame plans with CLT and Glulam systems. The competition funding will help the project team confirm the economic viability of timber through span optimization and cost modeling, ensuring the exposed wood in high-visibility learning spaces serves as both an economical choice and an educationally enriching feature integrated with the school’s sustainability curriculum.
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Tags: Biophilic design, cross-laminated timber (CLT), K-12 Construction, Mass Timber Schools, Softwood Lumber Board (SLB), sustainable timber, USDA Forest service
