Maine Wood + Sustainability Conference
If wood didn’t exist and someone invented it, the result would be hailed as a wonder material. Trees are renewable and recyclable, provide wildlife habitat, stabilize topsoil, provide cooling shade, and sequester carbon. And the wood they produce—without the need for a factory, and with only solar power—has an enormous range of applications in high performance construction, from structure to insulation to finishes. That range is growing, a trend that GO Logic is proud to support with our use of innovative cross-laminated timber construction and our development—through our R+D company, GO Lab—of wood fiber-based insulation products.
Trees are also central to the Maine landscape and economy. Maine is the most heavily forested state in the U.S., with 89 percent of its land area covered in timber, and forest products have long contributed a significant share of its GDP. That share has shrunk dramatically in recent years due to the closure of several major paper mills, with negative impacts on industry and jobs in Maine. But new technologies hold the promise of reversing those trends with high performance, wood-based building products that can be manufactured here in our home state.
As a Maine-based firm devoted to sustainability, therefore, we are excited to be participating in the Maine Wood + Sustainability Conference Wednesday, May 9, in Portland. A joint venture of the Maine AIA Committee on the Environment, passivhaus Maine, and Local Wood WORKS, the conference will educate the organizations’ members on such emerging wood technologies as cross-laminated timber panels and other mass timber components, innovative ways they’re being used, and their benefits for projects, the environment, and the Maine economy.
Keynote speaker Tom Chung, principal architect at Leers Weinzapfel, will present a case study on his design for UMass Amherst’s John W. Olver Design Building. GO Logic Management Director Timothy Lock will lead the panel discussion “Turning Ideas in the Action,” on incorporating advanced wood products into design and construction. GO Lab President Dr. Joshua Henry will deliver a presentation on GO Lab’s efforts to manufacture cost-effective, sustainable board and batt insulation in Maine.
If you haven’t already, you can register here. We hope to see you there!
