The climate crisis demands that we rethink how we construct the built environment. Buildings account for more than 33% of global energy consumption and nearly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions. Traditional building materials like concrete, steel, and glass are energy-intensive to produce, meaning truly sustainable buildings are difficult to achieve when we rely on the status quo.
Mass timber—engineered wood products that deliver immense structural strength while reducing environmental impact—has emerged as a compelling alternative. Swapping concrete for timber reduces embodied carbon by up to 26.5% per square foot. And the benefits go well beyond carbon metrics: Mass timber offers more efficient construction timelines, with off-site prefabrication of building components leading to quicker on-site assembly and less noise and debris. Exposed wood in indoor spaces has been linked to lower stress and improved well-being, offering another compelling reason to find an alternative to all that concrete and steel.
Our architecture, engineering, planning, and interiors design firm has been on the front lines of mass timber adoption for commercial builds. We believe that any leader who wants to drive innovation in sustainability can learn from what’s happening with this building material. Here are four lessons from our work with mass timber.
1. To drive change, change the narrative
One of the biggest barriers to innovation is shifting entrenched assumptions. For decades, the commercial market was dominated by sterile glass and steel towers. But as younger creative and tech groups began valuing a different vibe and the health of the planet, the workplace evolved.
Real estate development firm Hines recognized this evolution. It saw that top-tier tenants were drawn to the character of turn-of-the-century loft spaces, but supply was finite and existing buildings were often inefficient. We collaborated with Hines to reframe mass timber not as a risky, experimental material, but as a vehicle for a new type of workplace. By pioneering new systems and iterating from one project to the next, we proved that mass timber could provide an authentic-feeling experience with modern performance. The result: The first multi-story timber office structure built in the U.S. in more than a century.
2. Curiosity is the antidote to skepticism
Even promising ideas must be validated to be adopted at scale. In expanding mass timber into the hospitality sector—an industry hesitant about new forms of construction because of cost and guest experience concerns—we realized innovation isn’t about persuading people to try something new. Instead, it’s about shared curiosity.
Rather than trying to sell customers on mass timber, we brought together a roundtable of partners, including designers, manufacturers, hotel developers, and brands like Marriott, to identify the gaps in our collective understanding. We asked, “What do we need to discover together to answer your specific concerns?” In that space of discovery, we found that a 180-room timber hotel can be built up to two months faster than a concrete equivalent. When you replace “convincing” with “discovering together,” you create a natural partnership that drives innovation.
3. Build an ecosystem, not a hierarchy
Mass timber changed how we build, requiring new workflows and relationships. Systemic innovation requires looking beyond the walls of our firm and reimagining the ecosystem of partners.
A key component of this system is our long-standing partnership with the University of Minnesota College of Design. By participating in its research practice program, we bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world application. This collaboration moved us past fantasy designs and into the technical rigor required to make timber a viable utility.
This demands organizational humility. You should enter a project with educated guesses but always be prepared to be wrong—and no one person or idea should be central to success or failure. We often say you should be able to “rip the tent pole out of the middle” of a concept and still have the project stand because the collective expertise is so strong. When you treat partners as equal experts, you create the environment necessary for true innovation.
4. New ideas need champions
Mass timber adoption wasn’t inevitable. It required people across disciplines to advocate for it, test its feasibility, and prove its value, often in the face of skepticism. That kind of momentum behind a new idea doesn’t happen organically; it takes intentional leadership to steer in that direction.
Whether you’re introducing a new material, a new product, a new system, or a new strategy, real change and innovation require buy-in among designers, researchers, engineers, companies, clients, leadership, and frontline teams.
Leaders who want to drive innovation must approach it with intentionality. Pilot projects, test assumptions, measure results, and share what works—in our case, even with competitors.
Driving real change takes more than just conviction. You have to shift the narrative, embrace shared curiosity, and build the integrated systems required to support it. Leaders who adopt this mindset are the ones who will move their industries forward.
Steven McKay is CEO of the DLR Group.