Portland-based LEVER Architecture is known for its work with material innovation, specifically cross-laminated timber (CLT) and mass timber construction. Founded by Thomas Robinson in 2009, the practice has received much notoriety and was recognized as one of the Architectural League of New York's Emerging Voices in 2017. Since then, the practice has developed impressive mass timber projects and restorations such as the Oregon Conservation Center, Redfox Commons, and Albina Yard, their first US building made from domestically produced CLT.

Funding from the grant will aid the firm in its collaborative project Forest to Frame: An Architecture of Resilient Forestry. In partnership with Sustainable Northwest and Ecotrust, the project will be a web-based platform for "researching and tracking regional wood products that will meet the building industry's changing needs, as well as a tool to better understand the forestry practices associated with these products," shares the firm.

According to the USDA, the $15 million grant funding initiatives will "support 60 projects that cover a diverse range of activities from the development of affordable housing to expanding markets for mass timber, biochar, wood energy, and other emerging wood products. The grants also include funds to help tribes, local governments, and qualified non-profit organizations permanently conserve working forests that benefit communities."

The implementation of mass timber and wood-related innovations has greatly increased within the AEC community. The firm's goal is to develop a resource that provides information regarding regional forests that can be "easily understood and readily available to individuals from a wide range of backgrounds including developers and the local community." In addition, LEVER Architecture adds, "the effort will include targeted outreach to underserved communities, including BIPOC-owned, women-owned, and emerging small businesses (MWESB) and design firms."

Through their extensive research initiatives with universities, forestry organizations, and engineering firms, they have conducted other research collaborations focusing on "building with salvaged timber," life cycle assessments, and mass plywood fabrication and assembly, to name a few. Principal and founder Thomas Robinson shares in excitement and appreciation, "this grant will allow LEVER to create an informational and educational tool for anyone interested and engaged in using wood products in buildings. We hope this web-based platform will identify gaps and barriers in knowledge-sharing within the timber and design industries."