The STEM Teaching and Learning Facility

Mass Timber in the STEM Building

The MSU STEM Building is innovative not only in its purpose but also in the materials used for its construction. As opposed to a frame and construction heavily based in concrete and steel materials, the MSU STEM building relies heavily on Mass Timber products. This is an “umbrella term for a class of engineered wood building materials, including those created by layering and bonding wood” which is different from stick-frame structures made with lumber. As opposed to wood you normally see used in residential structure, mass timber can be used to construct much larger structures like the MSU STEM Building (Brind’Amour & Bertrand, 2023). If one were to walk through the MSU STEM Building right now, they could very quickly spot all of the different places that mass timber has been used instead of steel beams and concrete pillars.

Beyond looking great, mass timer in the STEM building has served several important purposes and has many benefits:

  • Mass timber can be safer to work with in construction for workers.
  • Mass timber is less carbon-intensive and better for the environment.
  • Mass timber is known to be fire-resistant.
  • Mass timber brings jobs and reduces overhead time and monetary costs for construction (Lupien, S., 2022).

The STEM building not only stands as a center for interdisciplinary learning and innovation but the very concepts of innovation and scientific advancement are baked into its very construction. This makes the STEM building one of MSU most revolutionary constructions on campus.

References

Brind’Amour, M., & Bertrand, S. (2023, September 29). Fact sheet: Building sustainably: Mass timber. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Retrieved from https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-building-sustainably-mass-timber-september-2023

Lupien, S. (2022, February 1). MassTimber@MSU. Michigan State University, Department of Forestry. https://www.canr.msu.edu/forestry
Michigan State University. (2021). MSU STEM Building: Stewardship and sustainability. In MSU 2030 strategic plan. https://msu.edu. Accessed December 27th, 2024