GAB Report event briefing

Early Design Decisions for Mass Timber Success

  • DateSep 29, 2026 · 12:00 pm GMT-0700
  • FormatVirtual

About the event

This regional online seminar from WoodWorks explores the essential early design choices needed to deliver cost-effective mass timber structures. Speaker Hamid Kaboli examines why applying traditional building approaches to non-commodity mass timber often creates unnecessary price premiums. Participants will examine how foundational selections regarding building code construction types, fire ratings, structural column grids, and panel spans directly dictate MEP integration, connection detailing, and acoustic performance. Illustrated by built case studies including a Saddleback College campus addition, the session outlines practical strategies to maximize project efficiency, constructability, and long-term design flexibility.

What you’ll learn

  • Identify the International Building Code construction types that permit mass timber and evaluate how early decisions regarding construction type, fire-resistance ratings, structural grids, and member spans influence code compliance, project cost, and constructability.
  • Explain strategies for integrating structural systems, MEP services, acoustics, and connection detailing in mass timber buildings to satisfy performance, fire-resistance, and occupant comfort requirements while supporting future building flexibility.
  • Describe construction sequencing, installation practices, and multidisciplinary coordination techniques that contribute to the safe, efficient, and successful execution of mass timber projects.
  • Evaluate how the design and construction strategies implemented in Saddleback College’s mass timber campus addition addressed structural, fire, architectural, and constructability challenges.

Attendance notes

WoodWorks will send each attendee a certificate of completion within 2 weeks via email. Attendees must stay for the duration of the event to receive a certificate.


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