RSVP: https://COTE_Feb2026.eventbrite.com

Join AIA Detroit’s Committee on the Environment (COTE) for an evening exploring how mass timber is reshaping the future of cities. Tall Timber: Future of Cities in Wood brings together leading voices from LEVER Architecture and Thornton Tomasetti.

Through a featured lecture and moderated discussion, speakers Thomas Robinson (LEVER Architecture) and Alejandro Fernandez (Thornton Tomasetti) will highlight advances in mass timber systems, design innovation, and a featured project on display. The program is paired with a relaxed reception, offering opportunities to connect with peers while viewing exhibits and enjoying light refreshments.

Limited seating, RSVP!

About the Presentation: Emerging Frameworks for Mass Timber

In 2015, LEVER’s Framework project was awarded the $1.5 million US Tall Wood Building Prize Competition which set off the firm’s commitment to becoming industry leaders in mass timber’s expansion nationally, beginning with their own research. In the decade following LEVER has designed and delivered 20+ mass timber projects with innovation and regenerative sourcing at their core. Thomas Robinson, LEVER’s founder, will talk about the firm’s evolution working with mass timber and emerging new frameworks for mass timber nationally.
Since the mid-2010s, Thornton Tomasetti has advanced mass timber adoption through focused research, performance-based design, and full-scale testing to address the structural, fire, and code challenges of tall timber buildings. This work informed key industry milestones—including the first successful 3-hour fire resistance test of exposed glulam columns with the USDA Forest Products Laboratory—and has been applied to pioneering projects such as Ascent in Milwaukee. Alejandro Fernandez will discuss how Thornton Tomasetti’s research has translated into the real-world delivery of tall and complex mass timber buildings.