The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) and the Binational Softwood Lumber Council (BSLC) congratulated the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the formal launch of the U.S. Tall Wood Building Prize Competition.
The competition invites U.S. developers, institutions, organizations and design teams willing to undertake an alternative solution approach to designing and building taller wood structures to submit entries for a prize of $2 million.
Following a funding initiative announced by the Obama Administration and the U.S. forestry industry through the USDA, SLB and BSLC earlier this year, the goal of the prize competition is to link rural U.S. technical expertise and products with evolving domestic and international market opportunities to showcase the application and sustainability of innovative wood-based structural building materials and solutions.
The objective of the competition is to identify proponents with building project(s) in the concept-, schematic- or design-development stage in the U.S. that can safely and successfully demonstrate the use of wood as a viable structural material in tall buildings.
Above and beyond the safety, environmental and economic benefits of wood, the initiative will challenge developers, designers, building officials, builders and manufacturers to further develop and refine specification and use of structural wood products - ultimately expanding the opportunity for new product and market development.
Marc Brinkmeyer, SLB Board Chair explained, “There is a breadth of wood-related building science, design and construction that’s underway internationally. In recent years we’ve seen a number of buildings over seven stories constructed around the world, including the 10-story Forte building in Melbourne, Australia and the 14-story Treet building in Bergen, Norway."
The opportunity to learn from what’s been done elsewhere, and build on it here in the U.S., is very exciting for our industry, our employees and communities. I am equally thrilled and appreciative of the partnership that industry has forged with the USDA on this competition, and am looking forward to seeing the great wood-based projects that will result. Wood truly is an optimal choice for the environment and economy.”
The competition is the first step of a new USDA and forest industry initiative that is designed to support rural U.S. communities. Submissions that meet the criteria of the competition will be evaluated by an expert panel of design and building professionals. The full Official Rules document, related background information and contact details can be found on the prize competition website.
Related Stories
Museums | Aug 11, 2010
Design guidelines for museums, archives, and art storage facilities
This column diagnoses the three most common moisture challenges with museums, archives, and art storage facilities and provides design guidance on how to avoid them.
| Aug 11, 2010
Broadway-style theater headed to Kentucky
One of Kentucky's largest performing arts venues should open in 2011—that's when construction is expected to wrap up on Eastern Kentucky University's Business & Technology Center for Performing Arts. The 93,000-sf Broadway-caliber theater will seat 2,000 audience members and have a 60×24-foot stage proscenium and a fly loft.
| Aug 11, 2010
Citizenship building in Texas targets LEED Silver
The Department of Homeland Security's new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services facility in Irving, Texas, was designed by 4240 Architecture and developed by JDL Castle Corporation. The focal point of the two-story, 56,000-sf building is the double-height, glass-walled Ceremony Room where new citizens take the oath.
| Aug 11, 2010
Carpenters' union helping build its own headquarters
The New England Regional Council of Carpenters headquarters in Dorchester, Mass., is taking shape within a 1940s industrial building. The Building Team of ADD Inc., RDK Engineers, Suffolk Construction, and the carpenters' Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, is giving the old facility a modern makeover by converting the existing two-story structure into a three-story, 75,000-sf, LEED-certif...
| Aug 11, 2010
Utah research facility reflects Native American architecture
A $130 million research facility is being built at University of Utah's Salt Lake City campus. The James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building—a USTAR Innovation Center—is being designed by the Atlanta office of Lord Aeck & Sargent, in association with Salt-Lake City-based Architectural Nexus.
| Aug 11, 2010
San Bernardino health center doubles in size
Temecula, Calif.-based EDGE was awarded the contract for California State University San Bernardino's health center renovation and expansion. The two-phase, $4 million project was designed by RSK Associates, San Francisco, and includes an 11,000-sf, tilt-up concrete expansion—which doubles the size of the facility—and site and infrastructure work.
| Aug 11, 2010
Goettsch Partners wins design competition for Soochow Securities HQ in China
Chicago-based Goettsch Partners has been selected to design the Soochow Securities Headquarters, the new office and stock exchange building for Soochow Securities Co. Ltd. The 21-story, 441,300-sf project includes 344,400 sf of office space, an 86,100-sf stock exchange, classrooms, and underground parking.
| Aug 11, 2010
New hospital expands Idaho healthcare options
Ascension Group Architects, Arlington, Texas, is designing a $150 million replacement hospital for Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, Idaho. An existing facility will be renovated as part of the project. The new six-story, 320-000-sf complex will house 187 beds, along with an intensive care unit, a cardiovascular care unit, pediatrics, psychiatry, surgical suites, rehabilitation clinic, and ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Colonnade fixes setback problem in Brooklyn condo project
The New York firm Scarano Architects was brought in by the developers of Olive Park condominiums in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn to bring the facility up to code after frame out was completed. The architects designed colonnades along the building's perimeter to create the 15-foot setback required by the New York City Planning Commission.
