International Mass Timber Conference 2026

In late March, Sierra Institute staff and the Mosaic Timber team joined thousands of architects, engineers, manufacturers, and forest professionals at the tenth annual International Mass Timber Conference in Portland. The gathering was a chance to network, plan, and advance the work of bringing community-scale CLT production to Plumas County.

Categories: Wood UtilizationPublished On: April 27, 2026By Ariana Bernstein

A Global Gathering in Portland

It was a drizzly week in late March and the Portland Convention Center was buzzing with a diverse community of mass timber professionals hailing from across the world: producers, manufacturing companies, architects, engineers, general contractors, project managers, USFS leaders, investors, educators, students, and more. This year was the tenth annual International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, Oregon. The conference offered keynote speakers, intensive sessions, networking events, and an exhibition hall displaying innovative ideas and products to build with mass timber. More than a conference, this convening operates as a connector and reunion for professionals involved in the mass timber industry. Thousands gathered to continue developing the processes and best practices that turn a tree into a home through the mass timber engineering process.

Why Mass Timber Is Gaining Ground

Long used in Europe, mass timber, an engineered wood product, is now gaining traction globally. Mass timber’s growing popularity can be attributed to numerous valuable qualities: the panels are fire-resistant, seismically sound, carbon sequestering, lightweight, and quick to assemble. Environmental sustainability is another significant appeal. Mass timber can also serve as a critical biomass utilization system to remove and use wood (small and large diameter trees) from overstocked forests during forest restoration projects. Generally unsellable, these small diameter trees can be transformed into high-value mass timber used to construct homes and buildings.

Mosaic Timber: From Incubation to Production

For the past three years, Mosaic Timber, LLC, has been incubated by the Sierra Institute out of its Indian Valley Wood Utilization Campus in Crescent Mills. Now, as a separate business entity, Mosaic Timber is on track to produce cross laminated timber (CLT) panels starting in spring of 2027. The goal of this community-scale facility is to promote forest health, decrease wildfire risk, create meaningful living wage jobs in rural Plumas county, and build high-quality fire resistant affordable homes throughout the west.

Building Partnerships at the Conference

At the conference, Sierra Institute staff Laurel Hicke, Ariana Bernstein, Drew Hanson and executive director Jonathan Kusel, gathered with a team of Mosaic Timber consultants to brainstorm, plan, and network. Effective production facilities can only launch with the support of strong partnerships, and our team was grateful to collaborate with a myriad of inspiring mass timber architects, engineers, contractors, ironworkers, and marketing teams. We met with key partners with the USFS, Alpenglow Saw Mill, Mad River Mass Timber, Foust Fabricators, Ironworkers Union, Carpentry Plus, Kinsol Timber Systems, Massframe Solutions, and more.

Looking Ahead

To turn a tree into a home takes a team and this networking was apparent at the IMTC. We are excited to see all that comes from this conference, and look forward to joining again next year!