The University of Oregon has been awarded more than $16 million in federal funds as part of a grant to the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition from the Build Back Better Regional Challenge.  

A total of $41.4 million was awarded to the coalition by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. $24.6 million is heading to the TallWood Design Institute, a collaboration between Oregon State University and the University of Oregon that aims to advance mass timber construction and other wood product building approaches. Oregon State University will receive $8 million.

At the University of Oregon, the funds will be split between two programs in the College of Design, with $14.6 million going toward the Oregon Acoustic Research Laboratory and $2 million for an affordable housing prototype using mass timber. The laboratory is envisioned as a “world-class, state-of-the-art facility designed for high-performance and high-throughput testing for sound-dampening products and construction methods.” The planned facility will be able to test for low- and high-frequency sound transmission and is intended to be used by both university researchers and the private sector. 

“The UO and OSU, through the TallWood Design Institute, have been essential to the development of the modern mass timber industry in Oregon through our research and development,” said University of Oregon architecture professor and TallWood Design Institute Director of Design, Judith Sheine. “Combined with the funding that will support smart forestry research, a new fire testing facility, and modular mass timber housing testing at OSU, and UO’s acoustic research lab and prototypes for affordable housing and retrofits, we will continue to advance our R&D work into the future to provide benefits for Oregonians.”

The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition also includes the Port of Portland, Business Oregon, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, and the Oregon Department of Forestry. The Build Back Better funds aim to enhance and rejuvenate Oregon’s timber industry through the creation of jobs in rural counties and forest restoration projects to improve resilience, reduce wildfire risk, and provide a sustainable supply for mass timber production.