Oregon has become the first state in the U.S. to allow timber buildings to rise higher than six stories without special consideration. The recent addendum to the state's building code is the result of Oregon’s statewide alternate method (SAM), a program that allows for alternate building techniques to be used after an advisory council has approved the “technical and scientific facts of the proposed alternate method.” The decision stands as a precedent for future construction across the United States.

+ 4

+ 19

• Architects

  LEVER Architecture

• Location

  Newberg, OR 97132, United States

• Lead Architects

  Thomas Robinson, Michael Gross, Scott Miller

• Area

  2200.0 ft2

• Project Year

  2016

• Photographs

  Jeremy Bittermann

+ 17

• Architects

  LEVER Architecture

• Location

  Portland, OR, United States

• Lead Architects

  Thomas Robinson, Jonathan Heppner, Doug Sheets

• Area

  45000.0 ft2

• Project Year

  2015

• Photographs

  Lara Swimmer

The United States’ first mass-timber highrise (defined by Emporis Building Standards as a building with an architectural height of 115-328 feet, or between 12 and 40 floors) has been granted planning permission, allowing construction on the landmark project to begin. Located in downtown Portland, Oregon, the building known as Framework will cap out at 12 floors and approximately 128 feet, ushering in a new era of tall building construction in the US.

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