Leading the Way in Mass Timber

XL was one of the earliest adopters of mass timber. In partnership with forward-thinking clients, we have invested in researching, developing and rethinking the entire process of how buildings are built. Now we are leading the way in providing mass timber as a more sustainable solution to a wide range of clients throughout the Bay Area.

View Our Mass Timber Projects

From small scale education facilities to large corporate office buildings, we are delivering a diverse range of mass timber structures while supporting our partners with a common goal: to build better, faster, more sustainably and have a positive impact on the environment.

Why Mass Timber?

When we build with sustainable timber, we decrease the embodied carbon of a building by 15-30%. Our deep mass timber expertise and innovation has also enabled us to standardize mass timber solutions to be more cost effective. Our clients have reaped the benefits of faster project delivery as well as enhanced occupant experience through biophilic design. Using sustainable timber as a building material, we create environments that inspire ideas, promote whole-body wellness and encourage productivity.

A Successful Approach

Successful mass timber projects don’t occur by accident; they require extensive planning and collaboration – as early as during the conceptual stage – in order for a project to proceed smoothly and efficiently. This means completely rethinking the traditional sequencing of a project, procuring resources, onboarding partners and making design decisions early in order to ensure quality, schedule and budget goals can be achieved.

Our Expertise

As innovators and early adopters in mass timber, our capabilities and expertise in this sustainable building solution run deep. Our mass timber services include:

General preconstruction
Timber modeling
Construction logistics/sequencing/erection
Mass timber fabricating/procurement
Onboarding of mass timber manufacturers and partners
Design integration/timber structure and building systems
Timber erection
Timber protection/weather mitigation plan
QA/QC process

TimberQuest

As early adopters and leaders in mass timber building, we have developed our own proprietary prefabricated mass timber solution Timberquest, that is increasing accessibility of all the benefits of mass timber to a broader audience. Features include:

California DSA pre-approved for rapid installation at California K-12 public schools and community colleges
Cost-competitiveness
Energy efficiency

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01/05

1,000,000

s.f. in mass timber projects

02/05

1st

mass timber building in Sunnyvale for leading tech giant

03/05

65%

below baseline carbon reduction on mass timber projects

04/05

35,000+

metric tons of carbon sequestered in built projects to-date

05/05

4,561+

metric tons CO2 avoided through wood construction

Outstanding Project Features

Event space with a unique structural strategy – a reciprocal frame roof that spans 70 feet without additional beam support.
LEED Platinum
Four different mass timber framing typologies.

Design-Build Team Success

Leadership Alignment: Leadership from XL, the owner, structural and architectural designers, and more than twenty specialized consultants worked closely to guide the project, balancing performance, schedule, and costs. The collaborative environment resulted in optimal and aligned solutions.
Innovative Solutions: The team used composite beams laid flat to maximize space and aesthetics, saving 30 inches per floor. This enabled the addition of a sixth floor while staying within the city’s 85-foot height limit for this type of mass timber building.
Smart Budget Management: Using target value design, the team explored budget-conscious design options which resulted in a final GMP within 0.3% of the initial estimate.
Future-Ready Design: The team adapted the office space design to provide flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic, completing the core and shell while rethinking the interior space to optimize flexibility for post-pandemic work styles.
Material Sourcing: Strong industry relationships and timely decision making allowed the team to lock in pricing on lumber early, saving millions before material costs doubled only a couple of months later.
Seamless Adaptations: The project added $5 million of hydronic piping mid-project without affecting the schedule, thanks to collaboration between the owner, project team leadership, and the field team.
Options Analysis for Cost Savings: The team helped the owner make an informed decision to address long-term parking. They conducted an in-depth parking study, revealing that car stackers would save the project $5 million over the life of the project.

“The Mass Timber team was a highly cohesive team and we looked forward to meetings because we knew that the information was going to be well organized, and the session would be a collaborative and an informative session.”

Confidential Client

Confidential