Un partenariat avec C40 Cities permet d’élargir la portée du programme en créant un réseau de futurs accélérateurs urbains. Cette collaboration a permis à C40 d’assembler une cohorte de 13 villes américaines, soit des membres de son réseau et d’autres villes ciblées conjointement avec le SLB, pour renforcer les connaissances et les capacités liées à la construction en bois d’œuvre, y compris la navigation des codes et de la sécurité incendie, les considérations relatives à la main-d’œuvre et les possibilités d’une chaîne d’approvisionnement régionale. L’une des deux visites prévues pour les professionnels de la ville est terminée et un atelier destiné aux délégués de la ville reste à venir. L’objectif est de trouver des candidats en mesure de constituer les prochains accélérateurs urbains du SLB, pour élargir la portée du programme bien au-delà de ce que permet le financement direct.

Le modèle des accélérateurs récemment publié fournit le cadre pour convertir cet intérêt en action. Plutôt que de répartir les ressources de façon uniforme dans divers marchés aux débouchés variables, le SLB privilégie les villes qui procurent des gains rapides et où la demande en bois d’œuvre à long terme est le plus susceptible d’augmenter.

Cette approche disciplinée garantit que les investissements du SLB sont dirigés vers les villes les plus à même de convertir des projets, d’influencer les marchés environnants et de générer une demande supplémentaire soutenue en bois d’œuvre.

Cinq facteurs régissent l’évaluation des villes candidates : le degré de préparation du secteur public, la capacité du secteur privé, la force du réseau d’intervenants, les conditions du marché et le respect des priorités du SLB et du USDA. Les marchés les plus robustes disposent d’un réseau de développement actif, de champions locaux dévoués, d’équipes de projets compétentes, de professionnels des codes et de la sécurité incendie ouverts, ainsi que d’occasions de faire la démonstration, à maintes reprises et à grande échelle, des systèmes à ossature de bois légère, hybrides et en bois massif.

La stratégie des accélérateurs urbains vise à transformer les possibilités de construction locale en demande mesurable et reproductible pour le bois d’œuvre. En collaborant directement avec les États, les villes et les municipalités, le programme s’allie aux projets durant la planification et la conception, en pleine sélection des matériaux structuraux, pour s’attaquer aux obstacles liés aux permis, aux codes, à la sécurité incendie et aux marchés, qui pourraient nuire à la réalisation des projets en bois.

Les résultats démontrent l’efficacité du modèle. Les projets initiaux de Boston, de New York et de la Géorgie ont permis de faire progresser des millions de pieds carrés de construction potentielle en bois. Qu’ils soient en cours ou nouveaux, les accélérateurs de Portland, en Orégon, de Santa Monica, en Californie et de New York se bâtissent d’autres portefeuilles de projets dans les secteurs de la construction multifamiliale, commerciale, publique et à usage mixte. En août dernier, l’Alabama Forestry Foundation a lancé l’accélérateur pour le bois massif d’Alabama afin de soutenir les projets en bois massif dans les segments industriel et des habitations multifamiliales abordables. En tout, le programme a cumulé 1,8 million de dollars en financement du USDA Forest Service, du U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities et des partenaires régionaux, dont 325 000 dollars provenant du SLB.

À la Clemson University, 30 professeurs d’ingénierie ont bénéficié d’enseignement technique, de ressources pédagogiques, d’activités pratiques et d’une exposition directe à la fabrication en bois, alors qu’une proportion similaire de répondants prévoient d’élargir leur contenu scolaire lié au bois. Un troisième atelier, présenté conjointement par Rothoblaas, a permis d’atteindre 35 participants à un coût individuel réduit de 27 pour cent par rapport à la moyenne des cinq ateliers prévus en 2026. Deux ateliers à venir devraient attirer 65 autres professeurs.

La forte demande pour ces ateliers démontre qu’il est possible d’investir davantage pour approfondir encore plus notre influence. L’atelier de Rothoblaas a d’ailleurs été élargi après avoir reçu 84 demandes de participation, tout comme celui prévu à la University of Washington, qui a reçu 81 demandes pour 30 places. Même si le nombre limité de places permet aux présentateurs de porter une attention accrue aux participants, la forte demande témoigne de l’intérêt des établissements postsecondaires à élargir le programme d’études sur la conception en bois et de la pertinence des ressources que la division de l’éducation du SLB propose aux publics les plus importants.

Les efforts d’intervention et de formation continue de la division de l’éducation du SLB auprès des étudiants et des professeurs continuent d’augmenter fortement cette année. De plus en plus de professionnels actuels et futurs sont équipés pour envisager les systèmes de construction en bois plus tôt dans le processus de conception et de construction.

En fait, le perfectionnement des professeurs est un facteur déterminant de cette croissance. À ce jour, cette année, 95 professeurs ont participé à trois ateliers, ce qui dépasse déjà les 75 participants pour l’ensemble de 2025, alors qu’un total de 160 est prévu d’ici la fin de l’année. Les participants représentent 72 programmes d’architecture, d’ingénierie et de construction de partout aux États-Unis. Chaque professeur formé peut intégrer sa nouvelle expertise sur la conception en bois dans plusieurs cours et la transmettre à différentes cohortes d’étudiants, et ainsi, multiplier le rendement à long terme des investissements de la division de l’éducation du SLB.

Lors d’un atelier à la Auburn University, 30 professeurs d’architecture de 28 établissements ont étudié la chaîne de valeur du bois, de la foresterie durable et de la production de bois d’œuvre à la fabrication de CLT et à la construction de bâtiments en bois massif. Tous les répondants au sondage ont indiqué une hausse de leurs connaissances et de leur confiance, alors que 83 pour cent d’entre eux prévoient d’élargir leur contenu lié au bois pendant la prochaine année scolaire. Les changements apportés aux programmes d’études devraient exposer plus de 1 000 étudiants supplémentaires par année au bois massif.

WoodWorks is testing agents that identify potential projects and draft profiles for the WoodWorks Innovation Network, reducing manual data entry while improving consistency. 

SLB Education used AI to research all 77 ACCE-accredited construction management programs, compiling information that can help guide future education and workforce investments.

At the AWC, 21 documented AI-assisted work products saved an estimated 184 staff hours, valued at more than $15,500. Applications included converting a complex engineering calculator, accelerating code research, and extracting data from 10 Environmental Product Declarations for carbon-storage analysis.

Together, these efforts demonstrate how responsible AI adoption can lower overhead, improve insight, and make every industry dollar work harder.

Artificial intelligence is delivering measurable returns across the SLB and its funded programs. New tools are cutting costs, reducing hours of repetitive work, and turning complex data into faster, more actionable insights, freeing more resources for the industry’s central objective: growing demand for lumber.

The SLB has moved its quarterly executive dashboard and annual return on investment reporting into AI-enabled tools. This shift is expected to reduce human error and save approximately $120,000 annually, freeing those dollars for market-development initiatives.
The SLB also converted FEA’s 2026 Construction Market Outlook into a custom GPT, providing funded programs and partners a simpler way to access and apply its underlying market data.

Think Wood launched a beta AI agent that brings campaign data into a chat-based interface, reducing the time required to answer many performance questions from hours to seconds. As the tool develops, it is expected to identify trends, strengthen KPI planning, and help direct campaign resources toward activities delivering the greatest return.

These outcomes matter because model codes establish the legal pathways that states and local jurisdictions rely on when approving building systems. Preserving favorable language protects existing lumber markets, while new provisions make it easier for designers, engineers, and code officials to use wood with confidence.

The AWC is also working to ensure its core design standards remain referenced in the 2027 codes. The 2027 Special Design Provisions for Wind and Seismic (SDPWS) has entered public review, while updated seismic research is strengthening wood-frame construction’s position in high-seismic regions.

Together, these wins protect wood products and building systems from unnecessary restrictions, expand recognized applications, and provide a stronger code foundation for future lumber demand.

The 2027 I-Codes cycle closed with every wood-favorable outcome secured by the AWC in prior hearings still intact, protecting lumber’s standing in construction and preserving new opportunities for expanded use nationwide.

Among the most important results, the AWC helped defeat a concrete-industry proposal that would have reduced the amount of exposed wood permitted in Type IV-B mass timber ceilings. Other restrictive proposals were also blocked, including changes that could have complicated code adoption or limited material options in wildland-urban interface construction. With final governmental consensus voting complete, those proposals are now off the table for the 2027 codes, pending routine confirmation by the International Code Council Board.

At the same time, several AWC-backed changes that expand wood use were approved. The 2027 codes will recognize the AWC’s Fire Design Specification as an option for determining acceptable heavy timber sizes, add new provisions for salvage lumber, update span tables for lumber headers and rafters, and strengthen recognition of wood-based floor framing and platform construction.

The most immediate opportunity is in multifamily housing. Affordability pressures continue to support rental demand, while mid-rise construction rebounded in 2025. Multifamily starts are up 15% in 2026 after growing 17% in 2025, according to AIA. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which became law in July, may also help remove barriers to new construction. Wood already holds a strong position in multifamily buildings, including a 63% share in five- to eight-story construction, where light-frame, hybrid, and mass timber systems can all compete.

For lumber demand, the key trend is not simply how much gets built, but where wood is gaining ground. The SLB will be including market share as a core KPI starting in 2027 to measure the current market and activity going forward. The SLB is prioritizing cities with the most opportunity for growth, reinforcing cost and speed advantages, and advancing hybrid systems that compete directly with steel and concrete. Investments by the SLB and its funded programs are helping lumber demand grow in the commercial, educational, mid-rise multifamily, office, and taller residential segments that represent some of the largest opportunities to convert future construction into incremental softwood lumber volume.

WoodWorks reported 109 converted projects in Q2, making it the fourth straight quarter with more than 100 projects converted. The average size of converted projects in both Q1 and Q2 was substantially higher than at the end of 2025, with an average 2026 project size of 135,000 square feet, up 27% from 106,000 square feet in 2025. 

Several large multifamily and student housing projects collectively increased the area. A continuing trend of larger multifamily projects going to construction would be a very positive sign for the market overall and for the outlook of WoodWorks' reported projects. The tall wood market also continues to move forward, with at least one tall wood project breaking ground each quarter over the past 12 months. With WoodWorks supporting more than 200 tall projects in design, tall wood represents another positive signal for a return to market growth.

While overall U.S. multifamily and nonresidential building activity has softened to 1.7 billion sq. ft. in 2025 from the peak in 2022 at 2.3 billion sq. ft., wood continues to capture a growing share of the projects moving forward. Over the same period, wood’s share of construction rose from 33% to 40%. That shift helped wood construction remain comparatively resilient even as the broader market contracted.

• Firm-wide training builds future capacity. Project-specific assistance helped a design team address structural, acoustic, and fire challenges on a five-story multifamily development while increasing its ability to deliver larger light-frame buildings on future projects.

• Type III education expands regional expertise. Training for more than 60 architects, engineers, developers, and building officials strengthened the knowledge needed to support expanding light-frame multifamily markets in the Southeast.

Multifamily 5-8 story projects represent an annual incremental lumber demand opportunity of 307 MM BF by 2035. WoodWorks’ support in this market shows how code expertise and early technical assistance can protect wood specifications, move large projects toward construction, and build the professional capacity needed for repeatable lumber demand.

Through project-specific technical support, code interpretation, and early-stage education, WoodWorks enables design teams to confidently pursue mid-rise light-frame and podium-style wood buildings. Light-frame structures represent 47% of the opportunity in the SLB’s long-term strategic plan and, with demand for this construction type continuing to grow, WoodWorks project support is critical to help project teams work through design, code, and structural challenges.

Several Q2 efforts show how targeted technical support is keeping these buildings in wood:

• Code guidance keeps a Los Angeles project on track. WoodWorks helped resolve height, area, and fire-resistance questions for a 75,000-square-foot, five-story Type III-A mixed-use building, reducing redesign risk while maintaining the light-frame solution.

• Fire wall expertise supports two major mixed-use developments. WoodWorks technical guidance helped engineers coordinate structural and fire-resistance requirements for projects totaling 720,000 square feet in San Diego and Albuquerque, keeping both large light-frame buildings moving forward.

Competitors are adjusting their messaging to current market conditions, shifting from generic material-superiority claims toward carbon and sustainability credibility. Concrete is consolidating checkoff-style spend around a growth mandate. Steel is actively de-risking its rivalry with wood by embracing hybrid steel-mass timber systems rather than pushing anti-wood messaging as it has in the past. Here are the highlights the SLB is monitoring:

Carbon and EPD credibility is now table stakes across all
three material categories. Every competitor has stood up a
carbon calculator, EPD update, or net-zero commitment in the
past 24 months.

The competitive landscape now largely mirrors WoodWorks' playbook. Every major competitor now runs a version of the WoodWorks model—webinars, on-demand education, design assistance, field staff—which validates the model but erodes WoodWorks' tactical differentiation over time.

An emerging threat: 3D-printed concrete gains institutional support. A parallel threat outside the traditional materials fight is gaining financial-industry validation: Wells Fargo has become the preferred lender for ICON, a 3D-printed concrete home builder, backing the technology with a dedicated credit incentive. This is a signal that construction technology innovation—not just materials—is starting to draw mainstream capital toward concrete-based methods, particularly in the single-family and affordable housing segments where softwood framing has traditionally been unchallenged. This merits monitoring but is not yet a code or spec-level threat.

Think Wood supported the releases with broader, more relevant sends of lead nurturing emails. Rather than showing signs of email fatigue, users were more likely to engage with more emails, driving increased engagement and helping move 2,280 contacts into highly engaged lead status during Q2.

These case studies support the SLB’s path to 2.9 BBF of incremental annual lumber demand by 2035. Multifamily, education, and office-related construction represent more than 1.4 BBF of identified opportunity, making targeted project examples important tools for accelerating adoption.

The results reinforce a consistent pattern: credible project examples, detailed guidance, and relevant follow-up increase the likelihood that design and construction professionals will specify wood.

Project-based content continues to deliver Think Wood’s strongest engagement and conversion results. The campaign’s lead-to-project conversion rate reached 41% in Q2, up from 24% year-over-year and sustaining the record pace established in Q1. The strongest-performing resources were case studies and project-focused assets that showed architects, engineers, and contractors how lumber-based structural systems solved real design, cost, and construction challenges.

New Q2 resources focused on markets with significant growth potential. The Packer Collegiate Institute Garden House demonstrated the opportunity for mass timber in education. An Omaha speculative office building showed how a hybrid mass timber-steel design outperformed an all-steel alternative. A new Multifamily Housing LookBook consolidated proven strategies and examples for one of wood construction’s largest markets.