Thread by @justinpalb

1) Engineered timber will revolutionize urban construction

By 2050, ~68% of world's pop. will dwell in cities -> rapid urbanization will req add'l infrastructure

Q: How can cities build to meet urbanization demand & also reduce CO2 impact at same time?
A: Eng. 🪵& here's why 👇

2) The 2 most common building materials today are steel & concrete

- Together, these materials generate ~10% of world's CO2 [greater than all but two countries: 🇺🇸& 🇨🇳]

- To have any shot at reducing the CO2 footprint by 2050, cities need #sustainabledevelopment alternatives

3) Advances in engineered 🪵 have opened up new structural possibilities

- Durable -> strength rivals steel but 80% lighter

- Modular -> Lego-like, prefabricated sections reduce transport times & streamline on-site flows

- Economic -> Est. to reduce construction times by ~20%

4) Eng. 🪵 is not only sustainable but SCALABLE

- Sustainable -> Produces ~25% less CO2 over its lifecycle compared to steel & concrete

- Scalable -> NA is resource-rich in 🪵. @forestservice is awarding grant 💰 to support dev. of 🪵 products as solution to overstocked forests

5) 2021 represents the tipping point for mainstream adoption of mass timber construction

"Currently many US cities are permitted to build with wood up to five stories. The new building code for tall mass timber buildings will allow up to 18 stories."
buildingcarbon12.com/whats-next/

6) I am keeping an 👀 on these players across the engineered timber value chain:

@VaagenBrothers, @katerrainc, @SmartlamNA, @fast_epp, Sterling Solutions, DRJ Wood Innovations, Freres Lumber Co., @PATH_Arch

7) Additional Resources:

Great article about engineered timber from @TheEconomist 👇

Green construction: Building sustainable cities with wooden skyscrapers

economist.com/science-and-te…

8) Additional Resources [cont.]:

Deeper dive into the sustainable building subject by @voxdotcom 👇

The hottest new thing in sustainable building is, uh, wood

vox.com/energy-and-env…

9) Additional Resources [cont.]:

- @TechCrunch article on the need to reduce the CO2 impact across cities

- Newly-launched VC firm @2150VC has a mandate to invest in startups that can facilitate the sustainable development of the world's growing cities

techcrunch.com/2021/02/23/215…

10) So, where do we go from here? Good question.

If you liked this thread, then take a chance and give me a follow – minimal downside w/ the potential for huge upside.

You can also read some of the other threads I've posted here 👇

https://twitter.com/justinpalb/status/1360024361449578498?s=20