Writing the Rules by Building the Work: Mass Timber’s New Chapter

Mass timber is entering a new era—defined not just by beauty or sustainability, but by data, codified clarity, and jobsite results. Research is informing codes, codes are guiding design, and integrated delivery is turning that guidance into reliable execution. Swinerton x Timberlab operate at that intersection.

From Evidence to Understanding: What the 10‑Story Shake‑Table Program Proved

Swinerton, Timberlab, and a broad team of industry and academic partners collaborated on the NHERI TallWood project at UC San Diego, designing and constructing a full‑scale, 10‑story mass timber structure for testing on the world’s largest six‑degree‑of‑freedom outdoor shake table. This allowed researchers, officials, and practitioners to observe the behavior of a real building under severe seismic demands—something models and small‑scale tests simply cannot replicate.

Across dozens of simulations—including motions equivalent to the 1994 Northridge (M 6.7) and 1999 Chi‑Chi (M 7.7) earthquakes—the mass timber lateral systems demonstrated exceptional resilience. The building experienced no structural damage, negligible residual drift, and only repairable non‑structural effects, even under repeated high‑intensity shaking.

These findings provide the kind of full‑scale evidence the industry has historically lacked, and they are directly informing how mass timber can be detailed, permitted, and delivered in high‑seismic regions. Test data at this resolution is foundational to moving mass timber from emerging practice to fully codified, mainstream structural use and will inform more efficient and resilient solutions for the building structure that will improve speed and reduce cost.

From Research to Codes: Clearer, Prescriptive Pathways

Data from the NHERI TallWood program is now feeding the code‑development process, particularly around lateral‑system design. As these findings move toward formal adoption in future ASCE 7 and IBC cycles, teams will rely less on time‑consuming, performance‑based approvals and gain clearer prescriptive pathways for tall mass‑timber systems.

That progression—from research to standards to everyday practice—reduces permitting uncertainty, shortens approvals, and lowers risk for teams without deep prior timber experience. Swinerton x Timberlab are actively engaged in the committees, working groups, and accelerators driving this evolution, ensuring we help shape the guidance rather than respond to it after the fact.

From Codes to Jobsite Reality: Precision, Connections, and Schedule Certainty

Mass timber’s dimensional stability is a practical advantage: tight fabrication tolerances make digital coordination more reliable, improving MEP interfaces, envelope integration, and overall constructability. That same precision is driving new connection innovations—such as the two‑hour‑rated, no‑hardware glulam bearing connection used at Heartwood in Seattle—which improves both fire performance and installation speed.

When the structure installs efficiently, follow‑on trades benefit from a predictable platform. On PSU’s Schnitzer Art + Art History + Design building, for example, Timberlab installed roughly 27,000 square feet of floor structure in five working days, enabling Swinerton-managed downstream work to begin far earlier than on a conventional system.

These schedule and performance gains are possible because our workflow integrates detailed digital‑twin modeling with prefabricated components that arrive on site as a coordinated kit of parts. That combination—digital clarity plus precision manufacturing—is what turns mass timber’s inherent advantages into real delivery certainty at an enhanced pace.

The Integrated Loop: Research ⇄ Design ⇄ Fabrication ⇄ Field

Our approach connects preconstruction, engineering, detailing, sourcing, fabrication, and installation into one continuous workflow. That integration reduces change‑order risk, tightens 3D coordination, and improves price certainty. Critically, it also creates a feedback loop: project experience informs research priorities, and research outcomes refine means and methods on the next job. The result is a cycle of evidence, iteration, and execution that advances the industry in practice—not just on paper.

What’s Next: Height, Seismic Clarity, and Broader Adoption

As shake‑table findings and other research efforts are codified, expect clearer recognition of timber lateral systems, improved seismic‑detailing guidance, and better‑defined design parameters. Early adopters are already shifting from “convert to timber later” to “design for timber from day one,” unlocking efficiencies that conventional materials can’t match. By adopting a “design for timber from day one” approach with Architect-Engineer-Contractor (AEC) project teams that have executed multiple mass timber projects, Swinerton x Timberlab teams are recognizing reduced costs and installation speeds that are twice the pace of prior projects. With growing market interest across multiple regions—and continued advances in connections, prefabrication, and integrated delivery—mass timber is on track to become a standard tool in the U.S. construction kit.

Conclusion: Writing the Rules by Building the Work

Mass timber’s momentum is being driven by the convergence of rigorous research, evolving codes, and integrated delivery. The Swinerton x Timberlab partnership is built around that intersection—translating research insights into field‑tested outcomes and feeding those outcomes back into the standards that shape future practice.

The results are already visible: taller, faster, more resilient buildings enabled by predictable systems and disciplined execution. And because we’re contributing across research, policy, and project delivery, we’re not just responding to the industry’s evolution—we’re helping define it.

Swinerton x Timberlab are advancing the evidence base, the guidance, and the workflows that will shape the next generation of high‑performance, sustainable mass‑timber construction.