Iowa’s First Modern Mass Timber Office Building Construction in Progress

Assembly of the mass timber components have begun on the state of Iowa’s first modern mass timber office building, 111 East Grand. The 66,800-square-foot, four-story multi-use building is located in the heart of the East Village of Des Moines. Featuring a “shou sugi ban” charred wood exterior and timber frame, the building continues the development of retail along Grand Avenue and connects City Hall with the East Village. 111 East Grand is a collaborative development between JSC Properties, Rypma Properties, Christensen Development and Ryan Companies and will be the largest project in North America to use dowel laminated timber.

The use of mass timber provides a sustainable design solution with advantages in material and systems, including the benefits of prefabrication, speed and quality, durability and strength among other attributes. In a mass timber project, the primary load-bearing structure is comprised of wood. 111 East Grand will be the first office building and the second project in the U.S. to utilize DLT for the floor and roof assemblies. DLT panels are made from stacked soft wood lumber boards, which are friction-fit together using hardwood dowels. The timber is sourced from sustainable managed forests in North America. DLT does not contain any glue, VOCs or metal nails. As a result, there is no off-gassing, which can result in improved air quality. The columns and beams are glue-laminated timber, which boasts high fire and chemical resistance.

Ryan Companies will move its Des Moines office team into the new project as one of the building’s first tenants. The project is expected to be complete in spring 2019.