Eligible project teams are encouraged to submit proposals for the 2025 Mass Timber Competition: Building Sustainable Schools, funded by the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) and the USDA Forest Service, with support from the Center for Green Schools (CFGS) at USGBC and WoodWorks. This year’s competition will award funds totaling $1.8 million to support projects that accelerate the pace of mass timber adoption in the United States, specifically in the K-12 learning environment. The competition entry deadline is January 13, 2025, and results will be announced in June 2025 at the AIA Conference on Architecture & Design.
“The enthusiasm generated by the previous years’ Mass Timber Competitions provided new evidence that the architecture and construction community is implementing mass timber as a path to market differentiation, building performance, and decarbonization,” said Cees de Jager, president and CEO of the SLB. “This latest iteration of the competition will encourage exploration of wood in learning spaces designed for well-being, design excellence, resilience, and reduced carbon impact.”
Eligible projects must be located within the United States and be a K-12 educational project including, but not limited to, classrooms, libraries, athletic facilities, offices, resource centers, portable classrooms, daycare facilities, and vocational centers. Eligible applicants include for-profit building organizations registered in the U.S. including architects, engineers, owners, general contractors, and manufacturers; not-for-profit organizations incorporated as a not-for-profit corporation or society formed in the U.S. such as trusts, religious bodies, and associations; U.S. local government entities such as public school districts, cities, counties, and states; and Native American tribal governments and organizations.
“Adopting a renewable construction system empowers schools, students, teachers, and districts to model positive change for sustainable, resilient, and thriving communities,” said Anisa Heming, Director for CFGS. “We encourage districts and other education entities to consider this unique funding opportunity to explore mass timber for their building projects.”
Applicant teams may apply for a funding amount that is appropriate to the project, but no higher than $500,000. Funding priorities for eligible projects include project size or complexity, replicability, and the likelihood of construction with a clear path to completion. Award recipients will agree to share cost analyses, life cycle assessments, post-occupancy biophilic studies, and other information about their project with the broader design and construction community to encourage and support other mass timber teams.
A judging panel representing the fields of education, architecture, engineering, construction, and sustainability will select the competition finalists based on their demonstration of biophilic design, carbon reduction strategies, and construction cost savings. Preference will be afforded to projects that commit to using domestically harvested and manufactured mass timber. The CFGS will assist with outreach to the education community. WoodWorks, a non-profit staffed with structural engineers, architects, and construction experts, will conduct the technical review of entries.
To learn more about the competition, view last year’s recipients, and to download the request for proposals, visit softwoodlumberboard.org/masstimbercompetition.