Archinect - News

NYC rolls out new mass timber construction grant program

2023-10-05T13:02:00-04:00

The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has announced the launch of the New York City Mass Timber Studio in an effort to join industry leaders who are elsewhere raising the bar for the use of sustainable materials in the built environment.

The Studio is operated with support from the Mayor’s Office for Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) and has begun applications for its first round of $25,000 grant funds. The money will be allocated to design teams looking to conduct design, technical, and economic feasibility assessments for mass timber products.

The U.S. Forest Service (which had already invested in a separate industry-facing program using mass timber) and Softwood Lumber Board are also aiding in its operation, with technical assistance from WoodWorks and advisory support from the American Institute of Architects New York and the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB).

Victoria Cerullo, the Acting Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Climate & Envir...

The U.S. government's wildfire prevention program could have unintended benefits for architects and the mass timber industry

2022-01-22T09:00:00-05:00

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Forest Service announced a $50 billion plan to fight wildfires. The goal is, in fact, to reduce wildfires. But one of the side effects may be a huge infusion of ecologically harvested wood into the supply chain for building materials. For architects, this firefighting tool could also be a new source of carbon-sequestering wood for sustainable building projects.

The timber industry is currently under tremendous strain to meet demands as suppliers face labor shortages that have triggered high prices for their clients, who are increasingly looking to build bigger and taller buildings using what is considered to be a more sustainable material.

The recent supply chain issues are making the rehabilitation program a windfall for the increasing number of firms in desperate need of timber that is at the same time ethically sourced and environmentally friendly. The Forest Service says it will treat about 75 million acres under the ten-year plan, which should produce about $150 billion worth of timber stock, according to pricing data taken from forest2market.com. Some have said they are optimistic for the changes it might entail for the industry’s overall decarbonization goals, valuing it for its potential to force architects to think more critically about incorporating the material into their designs.

“Oftentimes we’re trying to fit the forest and...

Boozy Blueprints: The U.S. Forest Service's Cocktail Construction Chart

2015-04-07T14:51:00-04:00

Earlier this week, venerable miscellany repository Kottke stumbled across a curious item in a section of the National Archives Catalog pertaining to the U.S. Forest Service: a precisely rendered and impressively illustrated 1974 document, titled Cocktail Construction Chart that meticulously detailed how to serve up various mixed drinks. [...] Esquire phoned up the agency to find out how this cool, but bizarre, part of our nation's history came to be.

Click here for a larger version of the chart.