The world’s fourth-largest military base will build its next generation of barracks out of mass timber – with the US Army pledging to start construction on a Mass Timber Barracks at Joint Base Lewis—McChord in Tacoma, Washington, next year.
That is according to the US Army Public Affairs unit, which reports that the world’s most powerful Army is looking to build greener, safer, and more resilient military installations—starting with a US $100 million 89,000-square-foot, three-story facility that broke ground last week.
“Through better and more innovative building techniques, the Corps of Engineers has designed a cost-competitive barracks that will provide the highest quality of life for our Soldiers while reducing emissions and the impact on the environment,” according to Paul Farnan, the principal prince assistant secretary of the Army for installations, energy, and environment.
“Joint Base Lewis-McChord is committed to providing modern and high-quality living spaces for all of our enlisted personnel,” said Major General Matthew McFarlane, deputy commander of I Corps.
The materials used to construct the barracks at JBLM aim to reduce embodied carbon—emissions from manufacturing, transportation, and installation of building materials—by at least 30%: “We are proving that we can build better; we can save money, increase our resilience, lower our emissions, and still deliver the highest levels of quality for our soldiers,” said Mr Farnan.
Construction on the barracks is slated to be completed by 2027 – with the pilot’s insights influencing future military projects, including the upcoming JBLM Mass Timber Barracks project – one of two mass timber projects in design, with a third being built at Fort Liberty.
US Army Backs Mass Timber with First-of-Kind Construction Policy
The JBLM Mass Timber Barracks is a precursor for a new policy requiring “a mass timber structural option to be considered at the design phase in all of its vertical construction projects going forward.”
Announced in November, it is part of a push by the US Department of Defence to decarbonise, with the US Army Corps of Engineers focused on the engineer regiment, military construction, and civil works – this means that the US Army will become the first military organisation to embrace mass timber in both on-site installations and civilian housing projects.
Published in October, it requires “all US Army MILCON and Civil Works vertical construction projects to consider at least one option where mass timber is a substantial structural component when comparing structural systems during early design.”
The new policy applies to all new projects starting from 2027, including “cross-laminated timber (CLT), glue-laminated timber (Glulam or GLT), dowel-laminated timber (DLT), nail-laminated timber (NLT), and laminated veneer lumber (LVL).”
The construction market for MILCON is enormous.
The new policy represents a major milestone for low-carbon construction materials. The market for MILCON (the US Military Construction Program) has at least US $16.674 billion in MILCON spending per year, split between military construction ($14.73b) and family housing ($1.94b), with more than US $1.47B in spending allocated for the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Wood Central understands the US Army is already using low-carbon concrete and mass timber to develop three new projects, including two bases at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington and a total retrofit of the Fort Liberty barracks.
However, the policy acknowledges that mass timber will not be considered in low-rise military installations, for example, less than three levels, with cost and supply amongst critical considerations.
“Initial costs will likely be the determining factor, and in certain CONUS (a US Department of Defence term to identify the states of USA) regions, mass timber may not be widely competitive at this time.”
- To learn more about why the Department of Defence and State Department are looking to mass timber to build future infrastructure, visit Wood Central’s special interview with Kevin Naranjo.
