Seth Lawrence
Masters Student, Sustainable Building Systems
A native of Western Mass growing up in Wendell, Seth came to the BCT department after 12 years of experience in construction and management. As an undergrad Seth was involved in research and development of 3-Layer “Low-Value” Eastern Hemlock CLT panels, specifically tailored to meet ANSI/APA PRG 320 certification for E3 designation. “Growing up here and seeing the forestry industry disappear around me has been a motivation for finding sustainable economic cash flow locally. The work I’m part of at UMass has given me the ability to address these issues and offer potential solutions for many generations to come.” As a Masters Student Seth is continuing the Eastern Hemlock CLT Panels in 5-layer layups to meet or exceed ANSI/APA PRG320 E3.
Project Title: Visually graded low-value Eastern Hemlock 5-layer CLT panels designed for E3 designation.
Project Description:
CLT panels are constructed by laminating odd layers of dimensional lumber perpendicularly to each other resulting in a large structural component used in Massive timber structures. Seth’s project focuses on visually graded local species Eastern Hemlock in manufacturing 3 and 5-layer CLT panels to meet standards set forth by ANSI/APA PRG 320-2018: Standard for Performance-Rated Cross-Laminated Timber. Ultimately leading to acceptance of local species panels in building codes.