VENUES

TALL TIMBER traveled to two additional venues after its run at the Skyscraper Museum: to the University of Arkansas, Fay Jones School of Architecture and to Downtown Detroit for an exhibition organized by Sandra Lupien of Michigan State University, Director of Mass Timber@MSU, where,  in partnership with the development firm Bedrock, it enjoyed a ground floor location with major street frontage in the art deco skyscraper Chrysler House.

The exhibition began as REFRAMED at the Chicago Architecture Center, co-curated with the Council on Vertical Urbanism, in 2023, but was transformed into TALL TIMBER at The Skyscraper Museum in 2024, with a renewed focus on tall buildings and urban density.

In each of its locations, TALL TIMBER highlighted local practices and projects as it sought to teach the public about the innovative qualities of a new kind of manufactured wood products that are bigger, stronger, more fire resistant, and more durable than common lumber or plywood. This emerging system of Mass Timber is being used in ways that avoid the “carbon cost” of traditional construction in concrete and steel. In New York and other large cities, tall buildings multiply these benefits through high-density urbanism. Outside of the city center, in suburbs, rural areas, and college campuses, Mass Timber is transforming hospitals, community centers, and academic buildings into more sustainable structures that also create a connection to nature. At the Detroit show, some mass timber Michigan projects highlighted, seen in the images below, include: the Griffith Veterinary Hospital; the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy; and a Community Center at Ab Ford Park.

As wood buildings grow taller and taller in the coming year, the Museum will surely examine Mass Timber again in the future. In New York, the Economic Development Corporation is leading the way with their Mass Timber Studio, which identifies development opportunities for Mass Timber buildings in the city and assists architects in navigating building codes to make these buildings a reality. Stay tuned as we explore new ideas and buildings soon. Onward & Upward!