The Children’s Museum of Eau Claire (CMEC) is a first-of-its-kind structure that demonstrates the innovative usage of Structural Round Timber (SRT).
The two-story, 24,000-square-foot building was designed by Steinberg Hart in collaboration with KPFF and an extensive team of timber engineering experts, fabricators, and forest product companies. One such firm to help bring this project to life is Madison, Wisconsin-based WholeTrees Structures. The woman-owned national timber products company aims to "improve the economic viability between healthily managed forests and the rural communities" that surround them.
In a press release published on October 31, CMEC Executive Director Michael McHorney shared, “Working with WholeTrees and their partners is helping us deliver on a key goal of this project, to reduce the carbon footprint for construction. As a result, the Children’s Museum of Eau Claire has sequestered more than 350,000 lbs. of CO2 equivalent in the timber structural system.”
CMEC showcases the multi-story potential of SRT. The museum’s primary structural support system is comprised of "responsibly sourced mass timber" that substitutes conventional steel and concrete. The building components include round-timber columns, joint trusses, and girder trusses.
WholeTrees Structures sourced the timber from Port Blakely, a family-owned timber company with 145,000 acres of sustainably managed forest in Oregon and Washington, which includes the 10,000-acre Winston Creek Certified Carbon Forest. The company manages longer rotation forests, which provide optimal net carbon sequestration.
Port Blakely provided Douglas fir logs which were sourced from their "single-origin Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI)-certified forests." In addition, Seven Islands Land Company, which manages 820,000 acres of SFI and FSC-certified land in Maine, provided the 30-foot structural maple columns for the project.
“The Port Blakely origin story is a perfect fit for WholeTrees,” said WholeTrees Structures CEO Amelia Baxter. “We work with architects and builders who are looking for products that are not only high functioning, but also have a strong sustainability story to tell in and of themselves. Now the Children’s Museum demonstrates how visually stunning carbon-smart design and construction can be.”
Video of the construction process. Courtesy of Children’s Museum of Eau Claire.
The Children’s Museum of Eau Claire is an example of the environmental benefit of using products from known forestry resources. It is expected to open in January 2023.
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Awesome!
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