Mass Timber: 44 States Said YES. Florida Said NO.

📬 INTRO: A TALE OF TWO TIMBER MONTHS

In July, the Florida Building Commission voted down 22 mass timber code provisions, against the advice of its own fire and structural experts. Then August happened: A world-record research building opened in Michigan, a first-of-its-kind office approval landed near Seattle, and Sydney’s record tower started getting its glass skin (insurers noticed too.)

Here’s a rundown on the split screen.

🌍 FIELD NOTES: THE SPLIT-SCREEN MATERIAL

🌴 Florida Says No, Fort Lauderdale Builds Anyway.

Tall mass timber is already permitted in 44 other states. After July’s vote, every Florida mass timber project must prove fire resistance and structural safety case by case under the code’s alternative-materials clause. The American Wood Council blamed “competing material interests and misleading testimony.”

The proof of concept is already standing. Hines’ T3 FAT Village in Fort Lauderdale, Florida’s first large-scale mass timber office at six stories and 180,000 square feet, was engineered for wind loads up to 120 mph, with crews adding extra fasteners and bracing through hurricane season. It finishes later this year.

Florida’s biggest timber building will open the same year the code said ‘no’.

🏗️ 590 Feet, Now Getting Its Glass Jacket

Atlassian Central topped out in Sydney in July as the world’s tallest hybrid timber tower: 39 stories, 590 feet, and more than 30,000 cubic meters of glulam and CLT stacked over a working train station. Milwaukee’s 25-story Ascent, the previous record holder, had held the title since 2022.

Now comes the fun part. Glazing is wrapping the exposed timber floors and crews are mounting 1,794 power-generating solar louvres, with completion set for the end of 2026.

The record just jumped 330 feet in one go!

us America’s August: A Record and a First

The University of Michigan cut the ribbon August 28 on its new College of Pharmacy: six stories, 142,000 square feet, billed as the world’s tallest mass timber research building, with 59% less embodied carbon than a steel version. Near Seattle, Skanska’s 12-story Bevel became the first US commercial office approved under the tall-timber Type IV-B code path, every ceiling left as exposed wood.

WoodWorks counts 2,833 mass timber projects built or underway across the US as of June.

Even the research labs are going up in wood now.

💵 The Insurers Are Writing Timber Its Own Playbook

Brokerage Gallagher wrote August 27 that insuring mass timber “often comes with sticker shock,” and that it is now working with carriers on timber-specific pricing and coverage instead of lumping it in with light wood framing. Zurich already offers up to $75 million in builders-risk capacity per qualified project, up from $50 million a year ago.

Mass timber now gets its own line in the actuarial tables.

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🏛 BUILT TO LAST:

In 44 states, tall timber is a code path. In Florida, you will have to budget time and fees for the alternative-materials workup (T3 shows it clears). Moisture detailing and an early call to your insurer separate the smooth projects from the stalled ones.

By role:

📐 Designers: Bevel proved Type IV-B works for offices, not just apartments. Cite the precedent.

🔨 Builders: T3’s crews added fasteners and bracing for hurricane season. Steal the sequencing.

🏢 Operators: Zurich forecasts 5,000 US timber buildings a year by 2035. Expect them in your portfolio.

🌱 Emerging pros: Mass timber detailing is a differentiator very few people have yet.

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