The Georgia Forestry Foundation is embarking on an initiative, “Seedlings to Solutions,” to strengthen the forestry industry through an innovative new building material: mass timber. Seedlings to Solutions will tell the story of mass timber in Georgia, from tree planting to building, and demonstrates the circular nature of sustainable forestry.
Seedlings to Solutions uses Jamestown LP’s new locally-grown mass timber building, 619 Ponce in Midtown Atlanta, as its foundation to illustrate the beauty, strength, and versatility of mass timber.
Rendering of 619 Ponce
Seedlings to Solutions is the theme that unifies all of GFF’s mass timber work and will unfold in four main phases:
- A mini-documentary series
- A mass timber popup
- A mass timber educational installation
- The Mass Timber Accelerator
The growing adoption of mass timber as a building product is a win for both sustainable development and Georgia’s forestry industry. Since 2017, GFF has been working to increase the awareness, knowledge, and acceptance of mass timber across Georgia. We have built the infrastructure to successfully activate Seedlings to Solutions as the next step in Georgia’s mass timber movement.
A TIMELINE: BUILDING A MARKET FOR MASS TIMBER
MINI-DOCUMENTARY SERIES
GFF is telling the story of mass timber as a natural, sustainable and versatile building product. This mini-documentary will capture the process and perspectives of our partners on the entire supply-chain journey to build the 619 Ponce building. 619 Ponce will be the first locally-grown, locally-sourced mass timber building in the Southeast.
SUPPORTERS
MASS TIMBER POPUP // TORUS ARCH
Torus Arch in the outdoor food hall at Ponce City Market
The best way for people to fall in love with mass timber is to experience it–to see it, to touch it, to feel surrounded by it, by wood. This is why in the first phase of Seedlings to Solutions GFF will install a mass timber ‘pop-up’ structure at Ponce City Market in Atlanta. The installation is designed to demonstrate the unique and beneficial qualities of mass timber and to encourage interaction with wood. The structure was designed and will be constructed by local architecture firm Formations Studio.
The pop-up installation is anticipated to begin when construction of Jamestown’s 619 Ponce mass timber building starts in March 2023. The structure both supports and gains momentum from 619 Ponce, and will build momentum for the following stages of Seedlings to Solutions.
SUPPORTERS
DESIGNED AND FABRICATED BY
MASS TIMBER EXHIBITION
Estimated Completion: 2024
Rendering of The Forest in The Yard at Ponce City Market
In Spring 2022, GFF sponsored a mass timber design studio at Georgia Tech to develop an educational mass timber structure design. During the semester, the students were split into four teams and tasked with designing a mass timber pavilion that could be placed in a prominent, high-foot-traffic location in Atlanta and that could move across the state.
After the student teams presented their designs to industry experts, GFF Trustees and staff, and other forestry industry representatives in April 2022, “The Forest” was selected to develop into the mass timber pavilion.
In addition to being chosen by GFF, the design won first place for Architecture in Georgia Tech’s 2022 Capstone Design Expo. Following the selection of the design, two GFF-funded student interns spent the summer refining the design. They identified The Yard at Ponce City Market as the preferred location for The Forest. Ponce City Market experiences over 3.5 million visitors a year.
The Forest will draw people in with its beauty, expose the public to mass timber, and provide education about the local mass timber supply chain, including the sustainability of mass timber and building with wood. On this stage, GFF will also be able to reach high-profile architecture, engineering, and construction professionals as well as the media, policymakers, and conservation influencers. The Forest (and mass timber buildings like it) that feature wood from forests certified to the Sustainable Forestry Initiative standard provide an opportunity for urban dwellers, architects, and construction professionals to learn more about the benefits of mass timber. Bringing this information and material directly to the public will increase social buy-in for the project by connecting the public with the idea that mass timber—and forestry—is sustainable.
HOST SPONSOR CURRENT DONORS & PARTNERS
THE GEORGIA MASS TIMBER ACCELERATOR
Check out the selected projects at seedlingstosolutions.org/the-accelerator
GFF is hosting the “Accelerator program,” which was piloted in Boston in 2022, and is now expanding to other cities including Atlanta. The competitive and application-based program is designed to increase building with mass timber. The Accelerator identifies and supports active private development project teams in conducting early design phase mass timber technical and financial feasibility studies. The studies will enable selected development teams to explore and fully consider the benefits of mass timber building materials and practices. Each winner also receives $25,000.00.
Broader awareness of the benefits and practices of mass timber construction will result in more buildings constructed with mass timber materials. New demand for wood enables loggers, mills, fabricators, suppliers, and providers to expand existing businesses, and create new local and regional businesses and job opportunities. Additionally, the program will encourage participation in Georgia’s expanded carbon registry to allow for the issuance of carbon credits for the embedded and embodied carbon benefits of building with mass timber.
