by Jeff Della Rosa (JDellaRosa@nwabj.com)
Mass timber products have become significant to many large construction projects in Northwest Arkansas thanks in part to the advocacy of Peter MacKeith, dean of the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.
MacKeith became a fast advocate for these products when he joined the UA more than 10 years ago. The advocacy has led to multiple large-scale mass timber projects on campus, timber executive gifts to the UA and piqued the interest of Bentonville retailer Walmart enough to use mass timber products to construct its new home office.
According to WoodWorks, mass timber products are engineered wood building materials made by layering and bonding wood. They are code-certified internationally and can be used for frames, floors, roofs and walls. The most common products include cross-laminated timber (CLT), glue-laminated timber (glulam) and dowel-laminated timber. CLT and glulam have been used in the most significant projects in Northwest Arkansas.
Peter MacKeith, dean of the University of Arkansas Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design