Research is the foundation for innovation. Sharing our research and making our data open-source was a key component for the funding awarded by the USDA and the Softwood Lumber Board as part of the US Tall Wood Building Prize earned by LEVER and the Framework team. In 2017, the data we collected and the strategies we documented during our push to develop, test, and design Framework were published by various key partners in a series of articles and papers made available to the public.

In the years that have followed, we have seen this data put into practice on multiple fronts. Strategies we developed have been replicated successfully on built mass timber projects, including Ascent in Milwaukee, which was certified in 2022 as the tallest mass timber building in the world. We have also tracked numerous instances in which this research directly impacted the adoption of new and amended codes relating to mass timber construction, including the 2021 International Building Code (IBC) and the State of Oregon’s Appendix P Tall Wood Buildings Provision. LEVER is among many firms whose upcoming mass timber projects will benefit from the precedents and code changes set in motion by Framework and the open-source nature of the data documented during its design.

Knowing that the research from this project has been put to use so widely already is both exciting and validating for everyone on the team. As we take stock of this project’s significant impact, it is important to note that there are many strategies we developed that have yet to be utilized or incorporated into new, built work - and there is plenty of exciting mass timber terrain left to be explored.

All of the published data from Framework remains available for free through Think Wood’s online database at the links below: