NYC Mass Timber Studio

Building Material Innovation

The City of New York (the “City”) plays a powerful role in paving the way to decarbonize the built environment and scale the clean construction industry by enabling innovative solutions, facilitating bold policies, and operating pilot programs to overcome implementation challenges in tangible ways.

Milestone

40%

of annual global CO2 emissions come from the built environment, including 13% from materials and construction.

In a 2023 PlaNYC report outlining sustainability goals and priorities, the City committed to reducing embodied carbon emissions for new buildings, infrastructure and major retrofits by 50 percent. The built environment is responsible for 40 percent of annual global CO2 emissions, of which building materials and construction are responsible for 13 percent. Unlike operational carbon which may be reduced over time with building retrofits, embodied carbon emissions are locked in place as soon as the building is constructed.

To this end, in 2022, former mayor Adams signed Clean Construction Executive Order 23 which requires the City’s capital project agencies to commit to actions that will lower embodied carbon from municipal construction projects. Expanding the use of mass timber (MT), building materials composed of engineered wood products, is a critical component to achieving the City’s carbon reduction targets.

Two speakers present a slideshow on Scale of Mass Timber Utilization to an audience in a dimly lit room. The presentation includes architectural diagrams and information about timber usage.

Goals of the NYC Mass Timber Studio

The NYC Mass Timber Studio broadens awareness, identifies new opportunities, and accelerates the use of mass timber practices in New York City, with the following goals:

Raise public awareness of the environmental and economic benefits of mass timber. construction
Introduce more practitioners to the details and feasibility of mass timber construction.
Identify development opportunities resulting in new building and infrastructure projects in New York City constructed with mass timber.
Promote regulatory clarity and prudent code reform that make the use of mass timber construction more feasible.

Broader awareness of the benefits and practices of mass timber construction will catalyze more buildings constructed with mass timber materials. New demand can enable harvesters, fabricators, suppliers, and providers to expand their existing businesses, and create new local and regional business and job opportunities.

The Mass Timber Studio is operated by NYCEDC and Newlab with technical assistance provided by WoodWorks, advisory support from the NYC Department of Buildings (DOB), the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), the Mayor’s Office for Climate and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ), and the American Institute of Architects New York (AIANY), and funding support from the Softwood Lumber Board.

Current Cohort of the NYC Mass Timber Studio

Following a successful first cohort, the second cohort of the Mass Timber Studio will support active projects in the early phases of mass timber planning and design for new developments across the five boroughs. The selected projects for the second cohort include:

1. New Stapleton Waterfront residential development on Staten Island will be the largest mass timber residential project in NYC with approximately 500 units, both affordable and market rate.

2. Five Timber Houses consists of five four-story houses, totaling 20,000 square feet and designed to Passive House standards with geothermal energy in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

3. Soundview Recreation Center is a new 45,000-square-foot recreation center in the Bronx with mass timber structural elements.

4. Shirley Chisholm Pavilion is a 1,200-square-foot open-air pavilion at the southeast corner of Prospect Park in Brooklyn—offering respite and wayfinding for parkgoers and a display celebrating Shirley Chisholm’s legacy.

5. Dockbuilders Pier is 3,100-square-foot building to support Staten Island Ferry operations.

6. New York Climate Exchange is the largest mass timber commercial project in NYC as part of its campus on Governors Island—totaling more than 140,000 square feet—to house its educational, research, and workforce development programming.

7. Ganeinu Academy is a 20,000-square-foot addition to an existing school in Fresh Meadows, Queens, rebuilt with robust resiliency measuresto repair damage caused by flooding during Hurricane Ida in 2021 and protect against future climate risks.

Stylized map of New York City and nearby areas, showing major roads, parks, and water bodies, with numbered black markers at eight locations across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and nearby boroughs.

First Cohort of the Mass Timber Studio

The Mass Timber Studio’s first cohort of awardees, announced in March 2024, explored the following focus areas: navigating regulatory frameworks, innovative project delivery, technical feasibility, sustainability and resiliency, and community & equity. The projects spanned across all five boroughs and included diverse building typologies and scales—from community centers and recreation centers to multi–family residential and industrial adaptive reuse developments:

1. Walter Gladwin Recreation Center - Tremont, Bronx
2. Brooklyn Public Library New Lots - East New York, Brooklyn
3. Mass Timber in Harlem - Harlem, Manhattan
4. Hillside Ave - Jamaica, Queens
5. Hoek Place - Red Hook, Brooklyn
6. 1160 Flushing Avenue - Bushwick, Brooklyn
7. The Grafted Home - Crown Heights, Brooklyn