Meta is the latest tech giant to use mass timber as part of its strategy to “green up” it’s data centres. Following Microsoft, which late last year opened the world’s first data centre built using a special cross-laminated timber (CLT) sandwich system, Meta is also piloting the use of CLT in posts and beams at several U.S. campuses—starting with its first timber-integrated site in Aiken, South Carolina.
Constructed by DPR Construction with materials supplied by SmartLam, the Aiken project marks a significant shift away from the steel-and-concrete systems traditionally used in data centre builds. According to Ryan Poole, Global Sustainability Leader at DPR, the benefits of timber are well established: “Wood has long been considered one of the most sustainable building materials due to its renewability and carbon sequestration during growth,” Poole said. “Mass timber buildings still consist of concrete and steel, and it is paramount we continue to find the correct balance that helps provide sustainable growth as we build a healthier future for people and the planet.”
Wood Central understands that additional mass timber buildings are scheduled for construction this year at Meta campuses in Cheyenne, Wyoming and Montgomery, Alabama. Project partners include Fortis Construction, Mercer Mass Timber, Hensel Phelps, and Binderholz. Meta is also leveraging the advantages of prefabricated timber components and lighter materials to accelerate construction timelines and reduce emissions typically associated with on-site steel welding.
“Mass timber products are largely prefabricated, reducing the need to weld steel on site,” Meta said this week. “This can increase the speed at which buildings are constructed by several weeks, as well as eliminate emissions associated with the typical construction process.”
According to Meta, replacing steel and concrete with mass timber could reduce the embodied carbon of administrative buildings by approximately 41%. Embodied carbon refers to emissions generated during the extraction, manufacturing, and installation of building materials. Sustainably harvested wood not only has a lower carbon footprint than steel or concrete—it also stores carbon absorbed during the tree’s growth cycle. Whilst further reductions are expected as timber is introduced into other parts of the data centre ecosystem, including warehouses and potentially data halls.
Beyond its climate credentials, mass timber also offers performance advantages in data centre environments. Products like CLT and glulam can outperform steel in strength-to-weight ratio and provide inherent fire resistance through their layered structure, which forms a protective char layer when exposed to flames. The reduced weight of timber also means less concrete is needed for foundations—cutting concrete use by up to 50% in some cases, which translates to additional cost and emissions savings.
Wood Central understands that construction-grade timbers—including Douglas fir, pine, spruce, and cedar—will be used across Meta’s timber projects. All wood must be certified under the FSC, SFI and/or PEFC certification to ensure traceability and responsible forest management, whilst reclaimed timber may also be incorporated where structurally appropriate: “Reaching scale for low carbon alternatives like mass timber is the challenge for companies constructing the infrastructure of tomorrow,” it said. “Our pilot mass timber buildings at data centre campuses can serve as examples for new approaches to accelerate the transition to net zero.”
- To learn more about the push to build the mega data centres of the future out of wood, click here for Wood Central’s special feature. And to learn why the United States is now the king of data centre construction, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from January.
