Findings from the 2021 International Mass Timber Conference

The International Mass Timber Conference is an annual conference based in Portland Oregon, USA. This year’s6th annual International Mass Timber Conference was 100 percent virtual, held from March 30 – April 1 2021.The conference is co-produced by the Forest Business Network and WoodWorks -Wood Products Council. Theconference delegates were from more than 30 countries and more than 800 companies / associations. Thesecompanies / associations were from all aspects of the mass timber market including supply chain, research,consulting, and government. This year was the first time Virtual Tours occurred and there were 9 tours toshowcase outstanding buildings, innovative materials, and initiatives. In the future a hybrid in-person / virtualconference is expected in 2022 and beyond which will also include Virtual Tours.Recently, Think Wood and WoodWorks – Wood Products Council released the first edition of the Mass TimberDesign Manual, which is a free resource available through the Think Wood webpage (https://info.thinkwood.com/masstimberdesignmanual). Within this Design Manual, there are many free downloads to guides such as: U.S.Mass Timber Floor Vibration Design Guide, Acoustics and Mass Timber, Mass Timber Construction Management,WoodWorks Index of Mass Timber Connections, and numerous other technical documents and case study buildingsprimarily from the U.S.. Delegates of the conference also received their copy of the International Mass TimberReport, which was developed as a companion piece to the International Mass Timber Conference. The Report isupdated annually and serves as a single, comprehensive source of North America mass timber information.There were four conference tracks: (1) Reimaging our cities, (2) Project delivery with mass timber: new product,new processes, (3) Building performance: design and implementation, and (4) Overcoming barriers and growingthe market. The following is a brief summary of the presentations that I followed during the conference.