Forest Futures: Building Resilience from the Forest Floor Up, Part 3 – Designing a Regenerative Future: Mass Timber and Creative Architecture

Tags: Building Resilience from the Forest Floor Up Series, Climate Resilience, Creative Architecture, Cross-Laminated Timber, Fire Resilience, Forest Futures, Forest Restoration, Green Building, Local Jobs, Mass Timber, Regenerative Design, Sustainable Architecture, Sustainable Building Materials, Tahoe Truckee, Wood Innovations

Read the First Two Blogs in This Series – Forest Futures: Building Resilience from the Forest Floor Up

Part 1: Turning Forest Risk into Opportunity

Part 2: Powering Communities with Local Wood Innovation

Tahoe Truckee’s greatest vulnerability—overcrowded, fire-prone forests—also holds the key to our future resilience. Through local innovation, collaboration, and sustainable design, we can transform forest byproducts into renewable energy, fire-resilient housing, and economic opportunity. This three-part blog series, drawn from our Forest Futures Salon Series, spotlights the people and projects building a regenerative Sierra economy.

Designing a Regenerative Future: Mass Timber and Creative Architecture

Turning forest waste into energy is one piece of the puzzle—but what about building homes, businesses, and gathering spaces from sustainable wood right here in the Sierra?

At the Forest Futures Salon “Wood Innovations: Building a Regenerative Sierra Economy through Forest Restoration,” Dr. Paul Mayencourt of UC Berkeley’s WoodLab and Dr. Sheila Kennedy of MIT shared how innovative architecture is unlocking the potential of forest byproducts.

Dr. Mayencourt discussed the rise of mass timber—engineered wood products that combine smaller pieces of lumber into strong, fire-resilient building materials. Mass timber construction emits far less carbon than concrete or steel and offers fire-protective qualities, charring instead of burning through.

TTCF has invested in two facilities that will produce cross-laminated timber from sustainably thinned wood:

• Sierra Institute for Community and Environment in Taylorsville
• Alpenglow Timber north of Truckee

Both will create local jobs, affordable construction materials, and new markets for forest waste.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kennedy and her MIT architecture students are pioneering “messy mass timber” designs, using irregular lumber off-cuts, edge pieces, and tree forks. These upcycled materials could provide low-cost, textured beams and slabs perfect for workforce housing and community spaces. Several pilot sites in Tahoe are already under design.

“Our group is inspired by the intelligence and strength of trees,” Kennedy noted. “We want to extend the life of every piece of wood.”

The takeaway? Forest innovation is not just about resilience—it’s about creativity, community, and creating beautiful, regenerative futures from materials once considered waste.

Next in the Forest Futures Series:
Join us May 22, 2025 – Working in the Woods: Jobs in Forests, Fires, and Wood Innovations

Restoring health to Sierra forests is a big job. This salon highlights what kinds of careers are available in a growing forest economy – from fire mitigation to forestry to making wood and biomass into innovative products.

Our speakers discuss not only emerging career pathways, but also what forest-based work could mean for a diversified and resilient local economy. For those looking to call the forest their office, those interested in supporting the workforce of tomorrow, or those who want to explore economic pathways towards a stronger Tahoe Truckee – join us in a conversation about win-win solutions for local jobs and our forests.  [Register here ➝]

Read the First Two Blogs in This Series – Forest Futures: Building Resilience from the Forest Floor Up

Part 1: Turning Forest Risk into Opportunity

Part 2: Powering Communities with Local Wood Innovation