Solid Wood Construction: Beyond Sustainability and the Future of Real Estate

Solid Wood Construction: Beyond Sustainability and the Future of Real Estate

A few years ago, mentioning “wood” as a structural material would often be met with skepticism by most urban developers. However, mass timber defies this bias and is now revolutionizing material innovation, speed of construction, and environmental sustainability. I personally experienced this when visiting an office building in Barcelona built entirely with cross-laminated timber (CLT). The warmth and indoor air quality there stood out compared to any other modern workspace I had experienced. Conversations with designers and real estate executives revealed a common understanding: choosing mass timber goes far beyond just following an eco-friendly trend.

Exploring the potential of mass timber construction means embracing a structural, aesthetic, and cultural shift that’s shaping the agenda in leading cities across Europe and America. This is the perfect time to consider how this trend can be adapted, scaled, and monetized in Latin America and worldwide.

What is Mass Timber and Why is the Industry Focused on It Now?

Mass timber refers to structural systems made from large prefabricated wood panels or bonded wood components. The best-known types include CLT (cross-laminated timber), GLT or glulam (glue-laminated timber), and NLT (nail-laminated timber). These technologies allow multi-story building construction, once only possible with concrete or steel, but now achieved much faster, with less waste, and exceptional energy efficiency.

• Highly precise prefabricated components with near millimeter accuracy
• Significant reduction in material waste
• Construction times cut by up to 25% and costs reduced by around 12% compared to traditional methods
• Panels act as long-term carbon sinks, storing CO2 for decades

Beyond the technical aspects, mass timber makes environmental responsibility tangible: the life cycle of a tower, hotel or coworking hub built from mass timber can cut embodied carbon emissions by 30% to 50%.

Why is Mass Timber Booming Now?

This rapid growth is fueled by three key factors:

• Regulatory and scientific progress: international codes now include updated safety and durability rules
• Environmental pressure: governments and urban developers set ambitious emission reduction goals and pursue green certifications
• End-user demand: owners, tenants and buyers seek healthier spaces with a natural sense of wellbeing

One of the most impressive advantages is the direct carbon savings. A standout example is the Under Armour building in Baltimore completed in 2023 by Gensler, which cut embodied carbon by over 69% by replacing steel and concrete with mass timber.

The mass timber industry is rapidly expanding, driven by both commercial and residential projects, especially where green building incentives and disruptive alternatives to concrete and steel are encouraged.

Competitive Advantages for Developers, Architects and Real Estate Agents

1. Faster construction with earlier possibility of sales and rentals
2. Reduced operational costs and potential tax benefits
3. Enhanced marketing positioning and incentives for attracting institutional tenants or clients
4. Improved comfort, air quality, and interior wellbeing. Wood positively affects emotional appeal and occupant perception
5. Opportunity for premium rents (up to 15% higher, according to recent reports)

The combined economic, ecological, and user experience benefits position mass timber as much more than a fleeting trend: it’s becoming a genuine differentiator in the real estate market. If your clients prioritize LEED, WELL, or other green certifications, mass timber is the direct path to environmental and financial success.

Real-World Cases and Data: What’s Happening Now?

This phenomenon is neither theoretical nor niche. In Europe and the United States alone, the number of mass timber buildings over five stories has tripled in the last five years. Iconic projects such as London's Abbey Wood station, Cambridge Central Mosque—known for its unique atmosphere and exceptional acoustics—and a recent 70-unit hotel in Seattle demonstrate how mass timber not only meets but exceeds acoustic, safety, and aesthetic standards. These projects are opening fresh market niches for developers, architects, and designers (see report by dRMM Architects)

• At the new Under Armour Campus, nearly 70% of embodied carbon was cut compared to concrete/steel versions
• Office buildings have shortened construction timelines by up to three months simply by choosing prefabricated wood
• Hotels and residences report 12% to 20% savings in total costs compared to conventional structures

Challenges, Risks, and Strategies for Successful Adoption

Like any disruptive leap, mass timber still faces real challenges: insurance and investment risks, specialized training requirements, and industrial logistics. Importantly, most current buildings are “hybrid,” combining wood with concrete or steel to balance technical performance, cost, and safety (EwingCole study).

• Risks: limited suppliers, insurance accessibility, and perceived durability/fire resistance
• Strategy: early collaboration between architects, engineers, and builders; training the supply chain and maximizing prefabrication

Risk mitigation is increasingly dependent on insurers, funds, and banks that understand the science and digital controls behind modern panel and structural production. The sector is overcoming old biases, and pioneering projects enjoy the strategic advantage of facing less competition while offering a stronger storytelling narrative for real estate marketing and product promotion. See risk and insurance analysis by AON.

Benefits for Wellbeing and User Experience: The New 'Emotional Sustainability'

Beyond environmental and economic calculations, mass timber shapes the lived experience. It creates sensations of warmth, acoustic comfort, and indoor air quality that occupants—from students to office staff—perceive very positively on a psychological level. It's the material that users instinctively touch, smell, and appreciate. No surprise then that more schools, offices, and coworking spaces are adopting mass timber as a central element of their experience and health concepts. This phenomenon is increasingly described as 'emotional sustainability'.

In the long run, investing in a healthy and genuinely natural atmosphere fosters a stronger sense of community and belonging than any other decorative element.

How Can Professionals and Developers Get Involved?

Transitioning to mass timber is not just for large firms. Medium-sized studios and young developers who commit to training and partner with prefabrication companies have successfully distinguished themselves in competitions, attracted new client niches, and gained visibility through media and specialized awards. Here are key insights drawn from first-hand consulting experience on two continents:

1. Research your local ecosystem of certified suppliers and build early partnerships.
2. Train yourself and engage your team in BIM management and digital modeling to fully leverage prefabrication efficiency.
3. Carefully evaluate hybrid combinations (wood plus steel/concrete) based on the project type and regulations.
4. Include life cycle studies and comfort simulations from the start to attract clients seeking strong identity and solid data.

Whether you're a real estate agent, architect, or student, embracing these new material languages will be essential to keep your offerings relevant over the next decade.

How to Communicate the Unique Value of a Mass Timber Project?

One of the biggest challenges (and opportunities) in marketing is telling the visual and experiential story of these new spaces. Technology is a great ally here: virtual staging, high-quality rendering, and immersive walkthroughs from Deptho showcase not just the material but also the spirit and atmosphere residents experience. Incorporating professional photography and motion graphics (for example, with Deptho’s Image to Video feature) enhances the feeling of quality, warmth, and innovation. From my experience, projects where visual storytelling aligned with environmental narratives sold faster and earned valuable media coverage and reputation that traditional methods rarely achieve.

If you want to speed up your tech adoption and improve presentations of mass timber spaces (or any other sector innovation), explore the step-by-step instructions in our practical guides section, where you will also find tips on photography, real estate marketing, and much more.

Looking Ahead: Market Evolution and Upcoming Innovations

The future outlook is bold: as the industry adjusts regulations and expands responsible supply chains, mass timber will move from a niche advantage to the preferred standard across many building types including corporate, educational, residential, and even industrial. The development of new hybrid composites, integration of sensors for structural health monitoring, and the rise of artificial intelligence from design to maintenance will unlock even greater creativity and sustainable real estate opportunities.

Mass timber’s present is eco-efficient real estate’s future. It’s not a trend... it’s the foundation for the next 20 years.

Looking to enhance visual storytelling for your mass timber projects or advance sustainable digitization? Try the visualization and presentation tools from Deptho — or browse other blog articles to discover more cutting-edge trends in architecture and real estate.