Orange County Sanitation District Headquarters
Photo Credit: Dan Schwalm

With unused office space reaching record highs, how can new office developers make their projects stand out with prospective tenants or employees? In two recent project case studies, Think Wood shows that mass timber can help office projects pencil out on cost while differentiating from the competition based on tenant appeal.

At 1501 Mike Fahey in Omaha, Nebraska, architecture firm HDR worked with developer Noddle on a hybrid steel-and-mass-timber spec office project that creates the amenity-rich, sustainability-oriented workspace tenants are seeking. HDR was also the architect behind the Orange County Sanitation District Headquarters, which used a hybrid mass timber structure that met budget while cutting embodied carbon, boosting workplace wellness, and meeting sustainability goals.

It’s no coincidence that HDR was involved in both projects—the firm is making a push to increase the number of mass timber buildings in its design portfolio, going so far as to track such projects in its internal sustainability metrics. In each project, the firm carried a wood scheme and concrete and steel schemes through design—and wood won in both cases. Think Wood increases architects’ and developers’ intent to specify wood in office projects and other high-opportunity segments with inspirational storytelling about the sustainability and occupant experience benefits of lumber.

MARKET IMPACT

• Increase wood’s market share in the office segment, which represents an annual incremental lumber demand opportunity of 299 MM BF by 2035.

• Provide inspiration and peer-to-peer proof of mass timber success stories.