E Pluribus Unum—out of many, one. This phrase is an analogy for what mass timber is.
Take many small pieces of wood, bond them together into a massive
element that can span greater distances and be more fire resistant than
the individual pieces. Soon you can have a building up to 18 stories
tall, made of the most low-tech “carbon fiber” the world has ever seen.
Mass timber was invented in Europe in 1994, initially conceived
as cross laminated timber, which is in essence plywood made from
flatwise 2x6 pieces instead of thin veneers. Thirty years later, the
term mass timber has enveloped already existing construction methods,
such as dowel laminated timber and nail laminated timber. New
variations, such as mass plywood panel, were also added.