The U.S. Army has broken ground on its largest mass‑timber installation yet, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) starting work on a five‑story, 105,000‑square‑foot (9,755‑square‑metre) barracks at Joint Base Lewis‑McChord — a project that will house 200 soldiers and, critically, test whether engineered timber can play a far broader role in future military infrastructure.
The move follows Wood Central’s reporting last year that the Army is accelerating its shift toward lower‑carbon, faster‑to‑build construction systems. Built from cross‑laminated and glue‑laminated timber, the new barracks form part of a wider effort to improve soldier housing and reduce the environmental footprint of military installations.
“This is a challenge to build faster, stronger, and with greater environmental stewardship using cross-laminated mass timber materials – materials with a long history in the private sector but with minimal use in the DoW,” said Col. Kathryn Sanborn, USACE Seattle District commander. “Today, with our contractor partners, we take the next step.”
Wood Central understands the project was selected for the Army’s Mass Timber Pilot Program in early 2023, following its authorisation in the fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act. The pilot requires each military department to evaluate mass timber as a primary construction material and assess its impact on sustainability, resilience, cost and construction speed — placing USACE, JBLM Army Garrison and the 1st Special Forces Group at the centre of a potential shift in military construction.
“By building modern, high-quality barracks, we’re not just improving readiness, we’re improving lives,” said Col. Joseph Handke, JBLM Army Garrison commander. “It’s one of several steps we’re taking to ensure JBLM remains a place where service members can thrive – not just professionally, but personally.”
Timber’s appeal extends well beyond carbon. “This is the way of the future for providing a lower embodied carbon footprint,” said Breanna McBride, a sustainability architect with USACE’s Northwestern Division. “Buildings use the most energy, and that’s why we’re incorporating mass timber as a lower‑carbon alternative to concrete and steel.” She noted that the material still feels unfamiliar to many military stakeholders. “Mass timber is a new category of wood product, but we need to make sure that people aren’t afraid of new things. For example, mass timber has a high fire resistance, just like thicker, old-growth wood.”
The barracks’ five‑story height and location in a high‑seismic zone required a hybrid structural approach. “It’s a little more challenging because of the seismic zone we’re in, requiring us to do more of a hybrid approach, rather than using 100% mass timber,” McBride said. If successful, she added, the project will help shape two additional timber facilities in design at JBLM and a third at Fort Liberty.
Construction is scheduled for completion in 2027, with the Army simultaneously rolling out mass timber and low‑carbon concrete across several other installations as part of a broader decarbonisation strategy. Supporting this shift is a network of technical partners — including WoodWorks, the American Wood Council, and the USDA Forest Products Laboratory — that provide training, code guidance, and material‑science expertise to USACE teams.
Behind the scenes, the engineering challenge has been considerable. When the project was selected for the pilot, the design was already 35% complete — forcing the Seattle District’s in‑house team to rethink the structure mid‑stream. “When this project was selected to be the mass timber pilot, I was really excited,” said structural engineer Jacob McCarty. “I think deep down in every structural engineer, there are two natures: to be risk‑averse and do the same thing you’re comfortable with, or embrace a fun new challenge.”
Mass timber also required a level of coordination far beyond that of typical projects. “We talked closely about what we were trying to achieve at levels that you may be on autopilot for with the materials we’re used to,” McCarty said. “It boils down to that understanding and collaborating and being willing to be a team player and think outside the box.”
His colleague, structural engineer Juhun Lee, said the Seattle District’s integrated model was essential. “We have everything in-house here,” Lee said. “I can talk to an architect or a mechanical engineer anytime I want. I just reached out to them and asked questions, and it’s so easy.”
McCarty summed up the ethos driving the project: “Building design is a team sport. The best teams I’ve been on are the ones that can listen to each other, understand each other’s perspectives, and help each other implement the design. It takes professionalism and working well together.”
The JBLM pilot also aligns with a landmark construction policy that will reshape how the Army builds. Beginning in 2027, all U.S. Army MILCON and Civil Works vertical construction projects must consider at least one mass‑timber structural option during early design. The requirement covers systems including cross‑laminated timber (CLT), glue‑laminated timber (Glulam/GLT), dowel‑laminated timber (DLT), nail‑laminated timber (NLT) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL).
The potential impact is enormous. The U.S. Military Construction Program allocates US $16.7 billion annually, including more than US $1.47 billion for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers alone. Wood Central understands the Army is already using mass timber across three major projects, including two at JBLM and a full retrofit of the Fort Liberty barracks.
Still, the Army acknowledges that mass timber will not suit every project. It is unlikely to be used for low‑rise buildings of fewer than three stories, and cost competitiveness varies across U.S. regions. “Initial costs will likely be the determining factor, and in certain CONUS regions, mass timber may not be widely competitive at this time,” the policy notes.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) — a key research partner — is studying how thermally modified structural timber performs under military conditions, including blast resistance, durability and force‑protection requirements. Drawing on its expertise in construction methods and building technology, ERDC is evaluating whether mass timber can meet the Army’s stringent standards for resilience, safety and long‑term performance.
For McCarty, the project’s human impact is just as important as its engineering ambition. He recalled visiting communal balconies built during a previous JBLM pilot. “Juhun and I walked on those balconies this summer. Others might not get them, but these ones do,” he said — a reminder that design decisions ripple directly into soldiers’ daily lives.
- To learn more about the types of timber products being tested by the US Army, click here for Wood Central’s special feature in 2024.
