Barry Mills Hall and the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies, Bowdoin College

Since the early 19th century, the image of the 'whispering pines' has been a defining symbol for Bowdoin College in Brunswick Maine.  Tellingly, a towering grove of pines sits adjacent to the site for project. 

Bowdoin College has a long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship; they were among the first colleges in the nation to achieve carbon neutrality. When they made the decision to add two new buildings to campus, architects knew that traditional construction would not meet Bowdoin’s goals for reducing the embodied carbon footprint of new construction. But to be sure, they evaluated two structural systems—mass timber and steel—comparing design, function, cost, and embodied carbon.

An early-phase life cycle assessment (LCA) found that mass timber would result in a significant embodied carbon reduction, and in-depth modeling found that the mass timber system would save three to four weeks in installation time. Both buildings were constructed using glue-laminated timber (glulam) beams and columns supporting cross-laminated (CLT) floor panels. 

The mass timber elements provide structure and finish in both conventional and atypical applications, including a statement stairway. CLT also frames the shear walls, which provide lateral resistance. HGA wanted nothing to detract from the clean aesthetic and simple beauty of the wood interior, so they took extra steps to hide mechanicals within the structure. The project shows how mass timber can be used to help meet sustainability, aesthetic, and budget commitments.