Just days out from the opening of Portland International Airport’s new terminal, one of the world’s most famous timber projects, Corporate America is taking notice – leading to a new wave of projects.
That is according to Jared Revay, Director of Manufacturing for Timberlab, one of North America’s largest mass timber manufacturers and fabricators behind the massive terminal roof.
“The new roof is about 390,000 feet or nine acres,” Mr Revay told Wood Central in an interview before the opening. “So imagine a nine-acre roof sitting on 34 columns. How KPFF (the engineers) figured out how to make this building stand up and then modulate it is crazy.”
“This is a hybrid roof – the steel girders are the backbone of the roof. There are steel girders every 100 feet in the centre with 80-foot beams in between them. Those steel girders sit on top of the 34 columns that support it throughout the nine acres.”
Mr Revay, one of nine international presenters at Timber Construct, Australia’s largest timber conference, will speak live from the airport just hours before its opening.
“It’s really cool that I can present live from the airport, and it’s pretty exciting to share the project with all the delegates and attendees in Australia,” Mr Revay said.
Hybrid timber construction is the future of construction
According to Mr Revay, timber-and-steel construction is gaining traction in the North American market, especially in industrial projects, “because it is modularized, you get a high degree of accurate tolerances with wood – whereas steel can grow and shrink thanks to differential and temperatures.”
“And that was one of the aspects that helped create a lighter roof and a roof that could be stable in tolerance so that when you pull it apart, it can come back together in a very tight tolerance fashion without things growing or shrinking on themselves.”
Mr Revay on the potential for timber-and-steel hybrid timber buildings to be used as “plug and play” applictions.
In March, Wood Central revealed that the North American mass timber market—with the correct policy settings—could grow 25-40 fold over the next 50 years, with Timberlab at the forefront of the growth.
In May, it acquired American Laminators, “one of the oldest timber manufacturers in the United States.” Mr Revay said, “The longest beam they can make is 135 feet long. They’re all passionate; and there is a great cultural alignment.”
In March, it announced plans to build a new 250,000-square-foot cross-laminated timber plant in Oregon and, in April, opened a 75,000-square-foot glulam facility in Greenville, South Carolina, solving a blockage in the supply of timber in the American South and East Coast.
“We’re starting to see more industrial applications (for mass timber), not only because of the tolerances and the look of wood (which is attractive to owners and architects) but also because of the idea that wood could be used as a carbon sink,” Mr Revay said.
“Then there is this idea that we could build prefabricated wood buildings that can be disassembled one day and the wood used for something else. I mean, wood can last for centuries if you take care of it, right? And so it all comes down to smart design and smart maintenance.”
Mr Revay on the potential for prefabricated timber buildings to be recycled and reused as part of a fully circular economy.
Jared Revay will be a keynote speaker at Timber Construct
Mr Revay will be one of the keynote speakers at Timber Construct, Australia’s largest timber construction conference. According to Andrew Dunn, the conference organiser, Timberlab is at the forefront of the mass timber wave and is a leader in timber hybrid construction.
“This is why we are thrilled to have Jared dial in from the Portland Airport,” Mr Dunn said.
Mr Revay will join Nick Milestone, the Vice President of Building and Construction for Mercer Mass Timber, and Perry Forsythe, the Emeritus Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney, to discuss the North American mass timber skyline and lessons for the Australian context.
“So far, we have 39 presenters lined up,” Mr Dunn said, with the Melbourne event “focused on materials and design, prefabrication, and building techniques.”
“Tickets are still on sale for the August 12 and 13 event,” Mr Dunn said, “so secure your early bird tickets before it is too late.”
- Please note: Wood Central will publish an exclusive interview with Jared Revay later this week.
