2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The topic of Mass Timber is of growing interest in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) professions, and it is increasingly important that higher education addresses this new building type as we prepare students for the future. In the past five years alone, there has been more than a 400% increase in the number of mass timber building projects under development and/or completed in the United States, and the number will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. Based on the growing popularity of this building system, it was decided to develop and offer a course on mass timber construction and design to undergraduate students within the school of architecture.
Developing a new course is a time-consuming effort, but one that is rewarding in being able to address the needs of the students, program, and professions. The resources available for developing the course included being invited to an educator’s workshop at another university, interacting with representatives from the wood industry, and having access to professional architects, engineers, and contractors who have experience in this type of design and construction.
The course was developed as an elective for undergraduate Architecture and Architectural Engineering majors and explores how a mass timber building project should be approached from the standpoint of architectural design, engineering, and construction. The course was offered to students in their junior year and above in the program with the intent of providing an educational experience that allows students to understand and be able to navigate the multiple topics and options that must be accounted for in a mass timber design and construction project.
As part of the course development, an undergraduate student was hired to develop teaching aids so that students could interact with hands-on examples of the engineered wood products covered in the course. The student, who was also enrolled in the course, worked on the project during the semester. He researched the topic to make the models accurate and specific to each code, while also meeting fabrication guidelines during the fabrication process. The research was reviewed and approved during bi-weekly meetings with the professor, the teaching aids were implemented into the course, and the student presented his research process and the models to the class.
This paper will give an overview of the origins of the course, provide a literary and program search for similar courses being offered in higher education, outline the development process and interactions with the AEC professions as the course was developed, and assess students enrolled on their knowledge before and after taking the course.
The current growth of mass timber in the United States makes the inclusion of an undergraduate course to introduce architectural design, engineering, and construction for this material of paramount importance to the success of our graduates as they enter the professions. This course will help students be prepared on the topic of mass timber design and construction as they enter the AEC professions upon graduation as this building system continues to grow in importance and popularity.