Preview: Wood and steel – the best for the 9-acre roof of Portland Airport!

The moment has come. After five years, Portland International Airport’s new terminal will finally open on Monday (PST time). The $125 million, nine-acre wooden roof is the centerpiece of a $2.15 million renovation that America’s most popular airport.

Last month, Wood Central spoke exclusively with Jared Revay, Timberlab’s production manager, who is responsible for constructing the 36,000 square meter roof, which is supported by 34 steel columns: “This is a hybrid roof – the steel beams are the backbone of the roof. Every 30 meters there are steel beams with 24 meter long beams in between.”

According to Mr Revay, wood and steel systems are a natural choice for projects like the airport: “Due to the modularity, you can achieve a high level of tolerance accuracy with wood – steel, on the other hand, can expand and contract due to temperature differences and fluctuations.”

“And that was one of the aspects that helped create a lighter roof and a roof that has a high level of stability so that if you pull it apart, it can be put back together with very little tolerance without it growing or shrinking.”

Designed by ZGF Architects, the cThe arched lattice structure is sourced from 13 forests scattered across the Oregon and Washington regions. The design “creates the impression of being under a forest canopy and mimics Oregon’s lush forestlands.”

The Timberlab frame is constructed of prefabricated steel beams from Evraz, corrugated Douglas fir glulam beams from Zip-O-Log Mills, and plywood panels from Freres Lumber. A total of 3.3 million board feet of native Douglas fir will be used, all of which will be prefabricated off-site, transported, and assembled over an 18-month period.

A concept called Forest to frameWood Central expects that almost all of the wood used for the project will come from Initiative for sustainable forestry (SFI) or Council for Forest Management (FSC)-certified forests, with much of the wood coming from small family forests and tribal areas.

Traceability was a key issue in the project’s procurement (all wood used for the project is fully accounted for) and wood procurement is guided by specific criteria, including the needs of local economies and indigenous peoples, as well as environmental sustainability concerns.

“The idea behind it was unique,” Mr Revay told Wood Central, adding: “As a contractor, I use it to buy my materials, build the building and work out the design along the way… but the Port of Portland decided to go one step further.”

“They wanted to do something that had never been done before. Getting FSC-certified (or SFI) wood is the easy part,” he said. “They wanted to get wood from tribal forests and from small family farms that have proven their sustainability.”

“So their goal is to bring these smaller forest species to the commercial market. They are walking their talk and investing more because they know where the money is going. And they know what changes this investment will bring.”

Mr Revay said this level of investment had changed his concept of sustainability. “You never really thought about the man cutting down the tree, or his family, or how forestry policies impact the people in these communities and their families.”

“Being part of something that advocates for the people in these communities and their values ​​so that they can succeed is empowering to me,” he said, adding that “many policies (regarding natural forests and native forestry) have caused great destruction over the past few decades.”

• Visit Wood Central’s feature to learn more about Portland International Airport and why it is the most famous timber construction project in the world. To watch Wood Central’s interview with Mr. Revay prior to the opening of Portland International Airport, click here.