The lid is finally off at Cincinnati Public Radio’s new headquarters, the first radio station in the United States to be built out of mass timber, with the choice to use wood made easy thanks to its superior acoustics.
“It’s perfect for a radio broadcast facility. It provides better insulation, especially in relation to low-frequency rumble, which is the bane of anyone recording audio.”
Richard Eiswerth, the President, CEO and General Manager of Cincinnati Public Radio
“Acoustics, above all else, is the number one priority,” said Kyle Waymer, mechanical engineer for CMTA, “even though we have a lot of wood, we still have a lot of hard surfaces (including) concrete and glass.” So to avoid reverberation from a forced air system, “all heating and cooling is done from the slab,” where lots of tubbing hooks the boilers and chillers.
“In the summer, we use the chilled water to cool the slab – pulling heat from the space, and in the winter, we reverse that and put heat back into the slab,” said Mr Waymer. “This has a number of benefits: it’s very quiet (basically noiseless), it has a higher level of comfort (because it doesn’t blow air onto people), and because it has so much glass, it overcomes radiant heat transfer with the sun beating in.”
Built by Skansa USA – one of the country’s largest contractors, the two-storey, 35,000-square feet building has left a lasting impact on the design and construction community across the Midwest. “This one is special,” said Douglas Steimle, the principal at Schaefer – the structural engineer for the project: “The design community (architects, contractors and developers) in Cincinnati is ready to embrace the idea of mass timber…but no one is ready to jump into it.”
“And so to be able to come and see a building like this, and to walk in and feel it, you can’t just walk into that building and not come out with a smile on your face. It hits you different.”
Douglas Steimle, the principal at Schaefer – the structural engineer for the project
“Most of the building which is open uses post and beam for the structure,” according to the project’s architect Adam Luginbill, from Emersion Design. “Whereas the (recording) studios are a box, which is a very different expression of the wood.” As a result, “you are getting solid walls with windows in them, but it is still a very solid box. Whilst the rest of the building is like a forest of columns…which you can see the structures supporting it.”
Then, there is the shear wall, which Mr Luginbill explained placed the stairs next to the wall: “This provides a great view of the shear wall that goes from the ground floor to the roof,” with the stair guard and wall made from the same glulam beams that support the floors and the roof.
Why Cincinnati Public Radio took the chance on mass timber
“After deciding to build a permanent home for Cincinnati Public Radio, we committed to building a Gold LEED-certified structure to keep the carbon footprint as neutral as possible,” Cincinnati Public Radio revealed in late December 2023. Moreover, “by building with mass timber vs. steel, the columns, beams, floor and roof slabs are manufactured offsite, which reduces construction waste and time.”
“In a matter of days vs. months, the wood panels can be assembled, making construction delays less likely. And in the event of a fire, charring insulates the structure so that the mass timber even surpasses the structural integrity of steel girders, providing time for escape.”
Cincinnati Public Radio on the benefits of mass timber construction systems over steel-and-concrete.
“Oh, and the wood is beautiful,” Cincinnati Public Radio said. “CPR’s new home will be energy efficient, but it’s also visually stunning. We look forward to listeners and community members spending time in this healthy and welcoming building for decades to come. We’re excited to shine a spotlight on the talent, passion and expertise we have in Cincinnati in a building that is also worthy of showcasing.”
