Illustrations

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A growing collection of global examples showing how mass timber creates value across market and non-market contexts. This space is intended to expand over time as researchers contribute new case studies.

Global Perspectives

Mass Timber Around the World

How mass timber shows up across residential and commercial markets, and in the public, cultural, and civic spaces beyond them.

Market

United States

Ascent MKE

A 25-story mixed-use tower in Milwaukee, Ascent is the world's tallest mass timber building, demonstrating engineered wood's viability for high-rise residential and hospitality development.

Norway

Mjøstårnet

At 18 stories, Mjøstårnet in Brumunddal helped set the modern benchmark for mass timber high-rises, combining apartments, a hotel, and offices in glulam and CLT construction.

Netherlands

Haut

Amsterdam's Haut is a 21-story timber-hybrid residential tower, one of the tallest timber apartment buildings in the Netherlands, pairing CLT with a concrete core for structural performance.

International House and Daramu House mass timber offices in Sydney

Australia

International House & Daramu House

Sydney's International House and neighboring Daramu House were among Australia's first commercial mass timber office buildings, proving engineered wood's viability in a market long dominated by steel and concrete.

Non-Market

Sweden

Sara Kulturhus

Skellefteå's Sara Kulturhus Centre combines a hotel, theatre, library, and gallery in one of the tallest timber buildings in the world, showing engineered wood's potential for civic and cultural architecture.

Japan

Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum

Kengo Kuma's Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum spans a rural road using cantilevered timber construction, celebrating local forestry and traditional Japanese carpentry in a public cultural space.

Seoul National University Haedong Advanced Engineering Building

South Korea

Seoul National University, Haedong Building

The Haedong Advanced Engineering Building at Seoul National University is one of Korea's first large-scale mass timber academic buildings, demonstrating engineered wood's use in institutional construction.

Canada

Richmond Olympic Oval

Built for the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Richmond Olympic Oval's undulating wood ceiling uses beetle-killed pine, showcasing mass timber's structural and sustainable design potential for large public sporting venues.