Mass Timber Awareness & Utilization

Building a Mass Timber Pavilion

Mass timber construction has the potential to revolutionize the places that we live, work and play. GFF is focused on driving awareness of mass timber by showcasing the natural beauty, versatility and sustainability of wood in the built environment.

Earlier this year, GFF partnered with Georgia Tech’s Digital Fabrication Lab to host a Mass Timber Design Studio. The Studio brought together students in Architecture, Civil Engineering and Construction Management. The students formed teams to develop an architectural design, cost estimate and small-scale model for a mass timber pavilion that can be moved to different high-profile areas across the state. The display will further the public awareness of the benefits working forests and mass timber provide.

Design and Fabrication of a Mass Timber Display

Student Design Proposals

Tim(ber) Mobile

Featuring a wing-like canopy, this team really wanted to push the limits of what mass timber could do. These “wings” would be charred to show the fire resiliency of the material. The design rounds out with a spot for education on mass timber, a small garden and a stage.

Click image on right to watch video.

Student Presentation: Timber Mobile PowerPoint

Through the Wooden Glass

This proposal was designed considering the many forms mass timber can take. Using the flexibility mass timber offers, the team explored different techniques, like CLT* to make shear walls, to add architectural interest to their pavilion design.

Click image on left to watch video.

*Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a large-scale, prefabricated, solid engineered wood panel

3-Ply: A Pavilion Series

Made of three pavilions, this display is designed to take the audience on a journey from interaction to education, to repose and reflection. This group celebrates mass timber as a wood alternative to other building materials.

Click image on right to watch video.

Wooden Threshold

Sliding wooden doors open this structure up for use as an events space in this project envisioned as an extension of the Beltline. It features a curved wall made out of glulam. This team concentrated on forest symbolism in the pavilion’s ability to protect from rain and to provide shade.

Click image on left to watch video.

Timeline

January 2022: Design Studio kicks off, focusing on fundamentals of designing and building with mass timber.
March 2022: 17 students at Georgia Tech gather into four teams and begin to design a mass timber pavilion, cost estimate and model.
April 2022: Student teams present their design to a diverse group represented by Georgia Tech faculty, members of the GFF Board of Directors and professionals in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry.
Summer 2022: Two student interns work on the final design and cost estimate.
August 2022: Final design and cost estimate provided to GFF.
January 2023: Mass Timber Pavilion and Accelerator capital campaign begins.
2024: Mass Timber Pavilion expected to be installed at Ponce City Market (Atlanta)

MAKE THE MASS TIMBER PAVILION A REALITY!

In May 2022, GFF received USDA Forest Service’s Wood Innovations Grant ($199,100) to fund this developing project. We need your help to reach the grant requirement that we match these funds 1:1.

→ Meet Dr. Russell Gentry, Georgia Tech // Associate Professor of Architecture and Civil Engineering + Mass Timber Studio Professor

DONATE TODAY

This project made possible through a grant from the USDA Forest Service. In accordance with Federal law and U.S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.)

To file a complaint of discrimination: write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (202) 720-5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.