Propmodo Daily

By Franco Faraudo · Jan. 29, 2024

Greetings!

Today we are talking about a recent study that came out that casts some doubt on the sustainability of mass timber construction. Mass timber has been touted as one of the ways that we can bring down the carbon-intensive process of constructing a building. It takes less energy to produce than concrete or steel, and it even traps carbon as it grows. But some say that the current calculations of its carbon emissions don’t take into consideration the details of the harvesting process.

Also, this week Propmodo Technology explores the latest innovations in location analytics and site selection. Thanks to our partners at Unacast for supporting the series.

Now let's dig in, and don’t forget to answer the poll question after the story!

The Mass Protest Against Mass Timber

As the property industry has felt the squeeze from investors and regulators to reduce its carbon footprint, many have turned to alternative construction materials as an effective way to decarbonize new buildings. One of the most promising new materials is mass timber, beams made of wood and glue that can take the place of steel and concrete for supporting a building.

Wood is a renewable resource, one that actually traps carbon as it grows. It is lighter than concrete or steel and requires much less energy to make. In the last few decades, engineers have found a way to make mass timber supports strong enough for even tall buildings, helping it gain adoption by builders and architects.

But recently, there has been some doubt cast on the sustainability of mass timber. A report came out in Nature that estimated the actual carbon costs of harvesting wood to be much higher than had previously been reported. It pointed to the fact that trees are not always harvested in a way that supports the ongoing growth of the forests they are taken from, so there are negative effects both for local ecosystems and in the amount of carbon that the other plants in the ecosystem can capture. The timber used for building is also only around one-quarter of the entire tree. The rest of the tree is either roots, which are left in the ground to rot (producing carbon), or branches and bark, which are burned (more carbon).

There was pushback to this report. There are criticisms of the methodology of the study and corrections about how much of our timber stock comes from plantations where trees were grown just for harvesting. There are also plenty of things that this report left out, like the fact that timber buildings are much lighter than concrete ones, and so require smaller foundations. We also don’t have a perfect system for accounting for the carbon that traditional construction materials produce in their lifetime.

Even still, the report has given some in the industry pause over switching to mass timber construction. This debate will rage on; the steel, concrete, and timber industries all have too much power and too many interests for it not to. I am all for shedding light on the dark spots of our knowledge about carbon emissions, but we need to be careful about how we do it. Mass timber might not be perfectly sustainable, but it is a piece of the puzzle in reducing our carbon output. As much as we need to keep refining our methods of how we calculate carbon in the built world, we need to do it in a way that doesn’t unnecessarily deter us from good low-carbon options.

Feedback Loop

Tell us what you think about the sustainability of mass timber construction by taking this quick, anonymous poll, and don’t forget to check back tomorrow to see the answers.

Friday, we asked you if multifamily buildings should be required to have more than one stairwell. Here are the results of that poll:

🧑‍🚒 Yes, they are essential for the safety of residents and first responders. 59.18%
🔨 No, they impose unnecessary costs on developers, hindering housing construction. 40.82%

Insider Insights

Propmodo Technology: Location Analytics

Overheard

Are You Enjoying This Newsletter?

Propmodo Daily is written and edited by Franco Faraudo with contributions from readers like you and the Propmodo team.

📧 Forward it to a friend and suggest they check it out.

🔗 Share a link to this post on social media.

🗣 Have ideas for future topics (or just want to say hello)? Share your feedback and tips at [email protected] or connect with us on X through @propmodo.

✅ Not subscribed yet? Sign up for this newsletter here.

📫️ Please add our newsletter email, [email protected], to your contacts to make sure you don’t miss any updates.

Explore Propmodo

• Read exclusive articles about a variety of topics, including Real Estate, Workplace, Buildings, and Development.

• Browse our collection of interactive Propmodo Research e-books.

• Sign up for upcoming Propmodo Live Webinars or watch past Propmodo Live videos on-demand.

• Dive into Propmodo Technology articles, podcasts, and short videos about the future of commercial real estate.

Enjoy reading about trends and innovation in commercial real estate? Subscribe to Propmodo.com for unrestricted access to reliable, data-driven journalism and exclusive insights available only to subscribers.

Interested in sponsoring this newsletter? Contact us here