It is right to say that the construction of one of the tallest timber buildings in the world — the Sara Cultural Center here — began when a pine seedling was planted in a nearby commercial forest almost a century ago.
People had no idea back then what role the little sapling might play beyond the sawmill. It could have become Ikea furniture. Or a cardboard box.
Instead, the tree grew to become part of a grand experiment in sustainable architecture — one that seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and store carbon in revolutionary “mass timber” structures going up around the world.
Read more at the Washington Post.