Weyerhaeuser collaborates with the Fay Jones School for Research Fellows program

Weyerhaeuser Company is partnering with the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the U of A for a new research fellows program that supports the development of innovative wood products and sustainable wood-based construction.

The newly formed Weyerhaeuser Research Fellows program includes two concurrent applied research and design projects at the U of A – one focused on prototyping a 3D-printed wood composite home, the other on engineering solid wood in support of three common housing typologies that are important for the countryside. communities.

The two-year program builds on previous successful partnerships between Weyerhaeuser and the Fay Jones School and will run through 2025. It directly supports Weyerhaeuser’s 3 by 30 sustainability ambitions and works towards a future where everyone has access to a quality, affordable and sustainable home . .

Launched in 2020, the Seattle-based company’s 3 by 30 Sustainability Ambitions focus on three areas where Weyerhaeuser plays an important role and can make a meaningful difference by 2030: climate solutions, sustainable homes and rural communities.

“Wood products are essential to increasing the overall availability of high-quality, affordable housing, so it is important that we continue to invest in developing new and better ways to build with them,” said Nancy Thompson, senior director of advocacy and philanthropy at Weyerhaeuser . “We are delighted to be working with Fay Jones School again and are keen to see how the innovations developed through the program will give more people access to sustainably built homes.”

Both projects in the new Research Fellows program – each supported by separate grants – build on previous research and design efforts at the Fay Jones School that Weyerhaeuser supported.

In recent years, Weyerhaeuser has invested in the Fay Jones School through both capital projects and applied research. The company contributed to the construction of the Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation. Two grants supported the studio projects “Wood City: Timberizing the City’s Building Blocks” and “A Just Home for the Arkansas Timberlands.” Two additional grants supported a seminar and design studio to support the research, design and production of studio desks that would be located in the new Anthony Timberlands Center when it opens in 2025.

“The Fay Jones School’s partnership with Weyerhaeuser builds on their strong, vital presence in Arkansas and the greater southeastern forested region, as well as an alignment of ambitions and directions in the research, development and implementation of wood-based design solutions to challenges in affordable housing, healthier communities and climate-focused action,” said Peter MacKeith, dean and professor of architecture at the school. “We are very grateful for the opportunities to work with Weyerhaeuser, both in the short and long term, and look forward to a continued productive relationship.”

The first project proposes to convert waste and byproducts, such as sawdust, into wood composite that can be used as a material for a 3D printed house. The waste used in this project will come from the school’s Urban Design Build Studio AR Home Lab, which – with support from Weyerhaeuser – has been exploring affordable housing built with Wave Layered Timber, trademarked as WLT, a new solid wood product with a wave-like appearance. profile that fits together without nails or glue.

“Weyerhaeuser’s support propels efforts with two emerging building material technologies, each circularly related in manufacturing, that are poised to address unmet housing needs in rural communities while providing effective opportunities for workforce development,” said John Folan, professor and head of the department. of Architecture, who will lead the project.

The second project, “Wood City II,” through the U of A Community Design Center, will develop solid wood prototypes for three building typologies that are increasingly important in rural communities: adult family housing (senior care), multifamily housing, and multifamily housing. homes and medium-sized hotels (about 100 rooms). This project follows a previous project, ‘Wood City: Timberizing the City’s Building Blocks’, also supported by Weyerhaeuser, which focused on solid wood designs for standard building types found in cities, such as suburban offices, fast food restaurants, big box stores, self-storage areas and more.

“Since the early 20th century, small and medium-sized cities with major main streets did not have pattern languages ​​for buildings that delivered high-performing, high-quality environments,” said Steve Luoni, director of the U of A Community Design Center, who will lead the project. “Wood City II aims to develop new prototype homes that address multiple challenges for the 85% of Americans who live outside the nation’s 50 largest cities. Prefabrication-based mass timber prototypes will address construction supply chain deficiencies, including labor shortages and the lack of a construction ecosystem in rural communities.

“Prototypes of multi-family housing will reintroduce shared economies and social services into housing solutions,” Luoni added. “Collaboration will become a necessary economic strategy for achieving broader access to housing. In particular, the adult family home prototype, which can house five to ten unrelated adults in a non-institutional, non-medical setting, will be the way to address housing for the elderly, housing for neurodivergent populations, and housing for others who need help. with the activities of daily living while maintaining independence.”

Prototypes of the 3D printed house and the three typologies of mass timber buildings will be built closer to the end of the program in late 2025. These projects are among the types that the Anthony Timberlands Center will house once completed.

To learn more about Weyerhaeuser’s commitment to sustainable homes, visit their website.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A offers internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity, while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation ranks the U of A among the few American colleges and universities with the highest levels of research activity. American news and world report ranks the U of A among the nation’s top public universities. See how the U of A is working to create a better world on Arkansas Research News.

About the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design: The Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas houses undergraduate professional design programs in architecture, landscape architecture, and interior architecture and design, along with a liberal studies program. The school also offers a Master of Design Studies, with concentrations in health and wellness design, resilient design, integrated wood design, and retail and hospitality design. The DesignIntelligence In the 2019 School Rankings Survey, the school was listed as one of the most hired schools for architecture, landscape architecture and interior design, ranking 10th, 14th and eighth respectively, and 28th among the most admired architecture schools.

About Weyerhaeuser: Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world’s largest private forestland owners, began operations in 1900 and today owns or controls approximately 10.5 million hectares of forestland in the U.S., as well as 14 million hectares of forestland managed under long-term licenses in Canada. Weyerhaeuser has been a global leader in sustainability for more than a century, managing 100 percent of its forest areas on a fully sustainable basis, in accordance with internationally recognized sustainable forestry standards. Weyerhaeuser is also one of the largest producers of wood products in North America and operates complementary businesses in areas including real estate, climate solutions, energy and natural resources. In 2023, the company generated net sales of $7.7 billion and employed approximately 9,300 people serving customers around the world. Weyerhaeuser’s common stock is operated as a real estate investment trust and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WY. More information can be found at www.weyerhaeuser.com.