Mass timber construction continues to gain traction in the United States, with more states adopting the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) provisions for tall mass timber as the AWC engages in education and outreach efforts across the country.

The latest states to join the movement are Ohio and Tennessee. The Ohio Board of Building Standards recently approved the code package to adopt the 2021 IBC, set to take effect next March. The AWC was a regular participant in the Ohio Building Codes Committee meetings supporting the development of the approved code package.

Nashville, Tennessee, went a step further and approved a new ordinance to adopt the 2021 IBC provisions for mass timber ahead of statewide adoption next year. Washington, D.C., is also making progress in adopting mass timber code provisions.

Continuing outreach to encourage more states and localities to adopt the tall mass timber provisions is vital to increasing the market opportunity for softwood lumber. Notably, states that have not yet
adopted the code provisions represent
an incremental opportunity of nearly
2 BBF annually.

In the meantime, the AWC’s staff is getting creative to make mass timber buildings easier to construct in areas that haven’t yet adopted the mass timber provisions. The Florida Mass Timber Alternative Materials and Methods (AMM) Guide is a resource to help code officials establish requirements for approval of mass timber buildings as AMM projects in Florida, which narrowly voted against approving mass timber provisions in its code. The AWC will develop additional versions of this resource for other states without mass timber provisions.