A Mass Timber Builder’s Story

Designing and constructing one of the nation’s largest cross-laminated timber manufacturing facilities requires more than technical expertise. It requires alignment, flexibility, and above all, a team willing to think and act like owners.

The 192,000-square-foot Independence Hall project is a modern mass timber marvel—a massive, light-filled space that will transform raw wood into components that become other mass timber structures. The facility is the next step in expanding Timberlab’s mass timber capabilities, delivered by Swinerton Incorporated’s own ecosystem. The effort has included Swinerton Builders, Timberlab, Lindgren, SAK Builders (SAK), and Swinerton’s self-perform team. With all parties embracing collaboration from day one, the project has remained collaborative, coordinated, and on-schedule despite unpredictable site conditions, late-arriving equipment and information, and evolving design requirements.

A Foundation for Success

Long before the first dirt moved onsite, the project team invested heavily in relationship-building. An internal partnering meeting brought key stakeholders and design partners together to establish a shared vision.

“That meeting set the tone,” recalled David Green, Operations Manager at Lindgren. “It made it clear we were building this for ourselves. Everyone showed up with an employee-owner’s mindset, and that mindset has shaped the entire project.”

“Those early conversations aligned our goals,” agreed Swinerton Senior Project Manager Ryan Dellit. “From that point, we made decisions with long-term operations and maintenance in mind—not just first cost.”

The team’s cohesion translated directly to speed. They moved quickly through conceptual design, budgeting, and value engineering. Concept drawings wrapped up in June 2024; by August, the first conceptual budget was completed.

“It was nonstop schematic pricing, value-engineering studies, and evaluating everything from earthwork strategies to wall systems and mechanical systems,” said Jon

Smith, Swinerton Preconstruction Manager. “But because the team was aligned from day one, we could move quickly and confidently.”

The structural systems were also carefully evaluated. “Industrial buildings like this are typically pre-engineered metal structures,” added Smith. “We knew we wanted mass timber, but we needed it to align with the required machinery, budget, and intended use,” which required some creative thinking. Working with Timberlab, structural engineers, and equipment vendors, the team aligned building span spacing and grid layout to advance mass timber as the solution.

Constructing the Building for the Equipment

From the start, Independence Hall has been defined by the manufacturing process. The footprint, structural grid, concrete slab, and MEP systems were all designed around manufacturing equipment that was still in the process of being engineered.

“The equipment drove the building,” said Green. “We knew we wouldn’t have complete equipment information until after construction was well underway.”

To maintain the schedule, the team made daring construction choices: build the entire perimeter on footings and stem walls, erect the structure, and delay the slab placement. This atypical approach provided flexibility to finalize the electrical routing below grade and accommodate late-arriving equipment details.

Since Timberlab was modeling architecture, structure, and MEP in a unified 3D environment, the team could iterate quickly as equipment details evolved.

“It was a massive coordination effort,” said Dellit. “But the partnerships and modeling made it possible.”

Site Realities

Independence Hall’s agricultural site brought multiple challenges: soggy soil, wet winter weather, wetlands, railroad adjacency, and environmental oversight.

“Soil conditions were a big early risk,” Dellit said, “but we prepared for that.”

The team leaned heavily on geotechnical inspections and added budget allowances for cement treatment. Swinerton Superintendent Eugene Matveev worked through the impacts daily:

“Some areas needed 15% cement treatment instead of the planned 5% to stabilize saturated ground. We revised the slab, MEP underground, and concrete sequences four or five times.”

Boring under the adjacent railroad four separate times for utilities tested the team’s patience. “I hope to never do it again,” laughed Green.

“It took nine months to get the first right-of-entry permit, which inspectors said was fast compared to the typical year-and-a-half to two-year process,” added Matveev. “I’ll take that as a win.”

Proximity to wetlands also brought strict oversight from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Enhanced filtration, expanded temporary controls, and upgraded permanent systems were integrated to protect the surrounding habitat throughout construction and after the facility becomes operational.

“These requirements added cost and complexity,” said Green, “but they also strengthened the long-term environmental performance of the project.”