More than $16 million of federal funds are on their way to University of Oregon and $8 million to Oregon State University researchers after the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition was named a grant recipient by the historic Build Back Better Regional Challenge.
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration announced today that the coalition was awarded a total of $41.4 million, with $24.6 million going to the TallWood Design Institute, a collaboration between the UO and OSU to support Oregon’s mass timber industry.
Of the funds, $14.6 million will go toward the Oregon Acoustic Research Laboratory and $2.0 million is destined for affordable housing prototyping using mass timber: an application that uses solid wood panels that are prefabricated using digital workflows. Both programs are part of the College of Design and contribute to the institute.
“The UO and OSU, through the TallWood Design Institute, have been essential to the development of the modern mass timber industry in Oregon through our research and development,” said UO architecture professor Judith Sheine, design director for the institute. “Combined with the funding that will support smart forestry research, a new fire testing facility, and modular mass timber housing testing at OSU, and UO’s acoustic research lab and prototypes for affordable housing and retrofits, we will continue to advance our R&D work into the future to provide benefits for Oregonians.”
The Oregon Mass Timber Coalition, in addition to the UO and OSU, includes the Port of Portland, Business Oregon, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development and the Oregon Department of Forestry.
“This grant will provide a tremendous lift to the TallWood Design Institute, which already leverages the expertise and collaboration of researchers at the University of Oregon and Oregon State University,” said Patrick Phillips, interim president of the UO. “It will also benefit the entire state of Oregon, driving innovation and helping to increasing our housing supply in a sustainable way.”
Source: University of Oregon