One of the United States’ top architecture and integrated design practices, DLR Group has reached a major milestone, announcing it has delivered more than 2 million square feet of completed mass‑timber projects, with another 2 million square feet currently in design or construction across North America.
“We believe in designing buildings that create healthier, more sustainable futures. Our mass timber work reflects DLR Group’s unwavering commitment to reduce climate impact through carbon reduction,” said Peter Rutti, the firm’s Managing Principal and Chief Design Officer.
The milestone comes as greenhouse gas levels continue to rise, accelerating the shift away from carbon‑intensive steel and concrete toward low‑carbon timber systems. And beyond its climate credentials, mass timber is also reshaping construction economics.
That’s because off-site prefabrication of panels, beams, and columns enables faster, quieter, and cleaner construction, according to DLR, allowing developers to enter the market sooner and realise revenue earlier. At the same time, research also shows that exposed timber interiors can improve mood, reduce stress, and enhance indoor air quality — a blend of environmental and human‑centred benefits that is driving rapid adoption across the United States.
“Our mass timber portfolio spans educational and student housing facilities, corporate offices, hotels and mixed‑use developments, decreasing carbon emissions and improving the health and wellbeing of users across the United States,” said Principal and Design Leader Steve Cavanaugh, who leads DLR Group’s mass timber studio and has designed three million square feet of mass timber while stewarding the firm’s long‑running partnership with Hines.
That decade‑long collaboration has produced the T3 (Timber, Transit, Technology) series of mass‑timber office buildings across North America. Recent projects include T3 ATX Eastside in Austin — the first timber office and residential development in the United States — and T3 FAT Village in Florida, a 182,000‑square‑foot office building that topped out in late 2025 and incorporates a purlin system that reduces wood fibre use by 20%.
DLR Group is also pushing mass timber into new sectors. With support from a U.S. Forest Service Wood Innovations Grant, the firm and the University of Minnesota developed a Mass Timber Hospitality Prototype to demonstrate that timber can meet the acoustic and safety requirements of hotel operators. That research is now being realised in Common Pine, California’s first mass‑timber hotel, scheduled for completion in 2028.
Whilst in education, mass timber is reshaping learning environments from career‑technical facilities to student housing. The Kalamazoo RESA Career Connect Campus integrates 115,000 square feet of cross‑laminated timber, while Texas A&M University’s Aplin Centre and The Ohio State University’s 13‑storey 9th and High student housing project demonstrate the material’s versatility at scale. At Swarthmore College, a new 60,000‑square‑foot mass‑timber dining centre saved nearly 300 metric tons of carbon compared with a steel alternative.
“Using timber in our projects is not just a pathway to reduce carbon footprints; it’s directly related to helping our clients achieve their goals and creating healthier, more inspiring spaces for the communities they serve,” Rutti said.
Please note: This article was supplied to Wood Central by DLR Group. For more information about DLR Group’s mass timber programme, click here.
