Boutique Hotel at 88 North Washington St | Bulfinch Triangle | West End

[Bananarama]

are mass timber buildings legal in ma?

Yes. The UMass Amherst Design Building was one of if not the first one 4 years ago.
Fire resistance has been substantially studied and these structures are as safe if not more so than typical stick built/steel frame ones. The dense wood has a very predictable char rate that helps insulate and slow down the burn.

 

[AmericanFolkLegend]

Thanks for posting HelloBostonHi. A couple questions for our resident architects (or anyone else who knows):

• Why the two sets of stairs for just three suites per floor? Is that a code thing?
• Will the contractor need to jump through hoops to comply with NFPA 241 and other codes for a mass timber building? I'm thinking things like a temporary sprinkler system, etc. that could eat into all your materials savings by going with timber.

Hydrobus, I googled and found this: Massachusetts’ state building code (780 CMR 9th edition) is based on the 2015 IBC, which allows mass timber buildings, including cross-laminated timber.

 

[shmessy]

Yes. The UMass Amherst Design Building was one of if not the first one 4 years ago.
Fire resistance has been substantially studied and these structures are as safe if not more so than typical stick built/steel frame ones. The dense wood has a very predictable char rate that helps insulate and slow down the burn.

 

[JumboBuc]

• Why the two sets of stairs for just three suites per floor? Is that a code thing?

There might be some specific exceptions (I don't know every detail) but MA building code generally requires two means of egress for all floors of a multi-unit building. If you're in an apartment or hotel room where there's only one way down off your floor (or up from a basement unit, and elevators don't count), that's illegal!