Evening Program - Mass Timber Construction – From Conception to Life Cycle Analysis
2025-03-11 17:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | Cortex – the Havana Room, 4240 Duncan, St. Louis, MO, 63110
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With an increased focus on limiting environmental impact and reducing carbon emissions in our built environment, architecture and construction professionals are increasingly exploring mass timber as a key strategy for creating greener, healthier buildings. Mass timber can be used in place of steel or concrete to create structures that offer durable, cost-effective performance with less embodied carbon. Still, while mass timber offers environmental, budgetary and aesthetic benefits, the process for evaluating its application within specific projects can be complex. With mass timber’s growing popularity, teams are learning how to navigate this complex decision-making given project parameters such as building typology, height, location, budget, timeline, and sustainability goals.
This program aims to provide attendees with a deeper understanding of the environmental benefits and potential applications of mass timber as well as a road map for teams on how to evaluate the potential application of mass timber in your projects. Led by industry experts from WoodWorks, HDR, Clayco-Lamar Johnson Collaborative and Trivers, the session will provide actionable insights for how to apply mass timber and realize its full potential in the built environment. Speakers will share key insights from real-word projects that will help attendees understand the best applications for mass timber and how best to make the case to clients considering cost-benefit analysis, life cycle assessment and budget constraints.
Speakers:

Erika Winters-Downey, Director, Sustainable Structures at Clayco-Lamar Johnson Collaborative
Colin Rohlfing, Vice President | Director of Sustainable Development at HDR
Ross Welch, Senior Project Architect | Associate at Trivers

Moderated by Jason Bahr, Regional Director at WoodWorks
ADMISSIONFree – Members of Missouri Gateway Green Building Council and full time students. Please note – you must be logged into your account to receive free member pricing!$25.00 – NON-Members
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Speakers

Jason Bahr, Regional Director, WoodWorks
Jason Bahr, PE is a Regional Director for Woodworks where he assists building designers, builders and owners on incorporating wood structure into their designs and educates them on the latest updates in the wood industry. This feeds his goal of seeing more wood leveraged as a more sustainable material and bringing its natural aesthetic into the built environment. He has previously worked as a design structural engineer, a timber frame designer and contractor. Jason holds combined Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University.

Colin Rohlfing, Associate AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Vice President and Director of Sustainable Development, HDR
Colin is an industry expert on Sustainable / Regenerative Design and is the Director of Sustainable Development for HDR’s Global Architecture practice. He facilitates sustainable design integration among all departments and business units and is acutely involved in refining the firm’s design process through the creation of new sustainable tools and processes. Over the past 20 years, Colin has held various design and leadership roles, as well as being actively involved with President Obama’s Export Council Sustainability Committee, the United States Green Building Council, the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment, the Biomimicry Guild and the International Living Future Institute. He is Key Opinion Leader and an active speaker with over 100 speaking engagements throughout the globe. Colin has been recognized on Building Design + Construction magazine’s and Design Futures Council’s “40 Under 40” lists and Engineering News-Record magazine’s “20 Under 40” list.

Ross Welch, Senior Project Architect & Associate, Trivers
Ross is a Project Manager and Associate with Trivers in St. Louis where he has nearly ten years of experience with wood-framed multifamily housing. Prior to that he built experience with higher education, science, and master planning design, as well as several years of hands-on education as a residential carpenter. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Master of Architecture degree from Washington University. Ross is a member of AIA St. Louis and serves on the board of STLNOMA. He is a past member of Urban Land Institute-St. Louis and the MGGBC, where he has been a Green Schools Quest mentor. Ross’ most successful application of mass timber was at Woodward Lofts, an adaptive reuse project of a 1925 printing factory that received a 2023 AIA National Housing Award. He has led several project pursuits for continued use of mass timber on residential projects in St. Louis, and has shared his experience on a panel at the 2022 AIA Conference on Architecture, and most recently with the Midwest Sustainable Design Leaders.

Erika Winters-Downey, SE, LEED BD+C, Associate & Director of Sustainable Structures, Clayco-Lamar Johnson Collaborative
Erika Winters-Downey, SE, LEED AP BD+C, is an Associate Principal and Director-Sustainable Structures for the Clayco/Lamar Johnson Collaborative enterprise. She has spent her career building relationships to foster the sharing of best practices in structural design and construction. With a breadth of experience spanning structural design, a technical institute, and construction, her experience allows her to drive success from project pursuits through design and construction. In her current role, she works across the enterprise to lead embodied carbon reduction strategies. She has established prototype client deliverables for Embodied Carbon studies, as well as a pilot testing program to assist clients in implementing low-carbon concrete designs. She is the current board chair for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Central Plains chapter, and a member of the inaugural board of the Kansas City Building Energy Exchange. An accomplished speaker and author, she thrives on the ability to distill technical topics for all to understand and apply.

Thanks to our Evening Program Sponsor!

CONTINUING EDUCATION: To be submitted for AIA CES.
CODE OF CONDUCTMissouri Gateway Green Building Council (MGGBC) is committed to providing a safe, productive, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all participants attending our events in person or virtually. We do not tolerate harassment or discrimination in any form. We aim to provide opportunities for open dialogue and exchange of green building & sustainability ideas and promote full participation and belonging for all participants. Discrimination and harassment include unwelcome, exclusionary behavior because of gender or gender identity, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, veteran status, age, citizenship, language, political or other opinion, physical appearance, economic status, and/or other identities. MGGBC expects everyone participating in its events and discussions, including Board Members, Committee Members, Volunteers, Members, Staff, and Guests to comply with this Code of Conduct. It is the responsibility of all participants to help ensure a safe environment for everybody. Individuals violating this Code of Conduct will be asked to leave.
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AIA CES PROVIDER STATEMENTMissouri Gateway Green Building Council is a registered provider of AIA-approved continuing education under Provider Number R341. All registered AIA CES Providers must comply with the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Any questions or concerns about this provider or this learning program may be sent to AIA CES (cessupport@aia.org or (800) AIA 3837, Option 3). This learning program is registered with AIA CES for continuing professional education. As such, it does not include content that may be deemed or construed to be an approval or endorsement by the AIA of any material of construction or any method or manner of handling, using, distributing, or dealing in any material or product. AIA continuing education credit has been reviewed and approved by AIA CES. Learners must complete the entire learning program to receive continuing education credit. AIA continuing education Learning Units earned upon completion of this course will be reported to AIA CES for AIA members. Certificates of Completion for both AIA members and non-AIA members are available upon request.
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