American Wood Council Leadership Transition: What Building Professionals Should Know About Wood Construction Standards and Industry Direction

The American Wood Council (AWC) is one of the most influential organizations shaping how wood is used in construction across the United States. When the AWC appointed Jackson Morrill as its new president and CEO in 2020, succeeding Robert Glowinski after more than 40 years of service, the move signaled continuity and ambition for an industry at a pivotal moment. Building professionals who specify, design, or construct with wood need to understand what the AWC does, how standards like the ANSI-approved National Design Specification for Wood Construction and the Special Design Provisions for Wind and Seismic govern their work, and where the industry is headed under new leadership. This article breaks down the AWC’s role, the significance of its leadership transition, the building codes it shapes, and the emerging opportunities in mass timber and engineered wood products.

The American Wood Council: Role in Wood Construction Standards

The American Wood Council is the foremost authority on wood construction standards in the United States. Its primary mission is to advance the use of wood as a sustainable, safe, and cost-effective building material through research, advocacy, and code development. The AWC represents the structural wood products industry and works closely with code officials, engineers, architects, and regulators to ensure that wood construction standards reflect the latest research and best practices.

Key Functions of the AWC

• Building Code Development: The AWC participates actively in the International Code Council (ICC) process, submitting code change proposals, testifying at hearings, and providing technical data that shapes the International Building Code (IBC) and International Residential Code (IRC).
• Standard Writing: The AWC develops and maintains the National Design Specification (NDS) for Wood Construction, which provides design values and adjustment factors for structural wood products used in buildings and other structures.
• Fire Code Advocacy: The AWC conducts fire testing and research to support the safe use of wood in buildings, particularly for taller structures where fire performance is a critical concern.
• Legislative Advocacy: The AWC represents the wood products industry before Congress and federal agencies on issues ranging from environmental regulation to building code legislation.
• Educational Programs: The AWC offers continuing education, webinars, and technical resources for building professionals including engineers, architects, and building officials.

The National Design Specification and What It Covers

The NDS for Wood Construction is the cornerstone document that governs engineered wood design in the United States. It is referenced by the IBC and IRC, making it legally binding in jurisdictions that have adopted those codes. The NDS covers:

• Allowable stress design (ASD) and load and resistance factor design (LRFD) methodologies for sawn lumber, glued laminated timber (glulam), and structural composite lumber
• Design adjustments for duration of load, moisture content, temperature, and fire resistance
• Connections, fasteners, and timber rivets
• Design provisions for shear walls, diaphragms, and other lateral force-resisting systems in the Special Design Provisions for Wind and Seismic (SDPWS)

The NDS is updated on a regular cycle, with the most recent edition reflecting years of research into the performance of wood under various loading conditions. The AWC’s standards committee, composed of engineers, researchers, and industry representatives, oversees these updates to ensure the document remains current with the state of the art in wood engineering.

Leadership Transition at the American Wood Council

In September 2020, the AWC announced that Jackson Morrill would become its new president and CEO, succeeding Robert Glowinski who retired at the end of that year after more than 40 years in the wood industry associations. Morrill came to the AWC from the Composite Panel Association (CPA), where he had served as president, bringing deep experience in environmental policy, industry standards, and sustainability advocacy.

Jackson Morrill’s Background and Expertise

Morrill brought over 20 years of experience to the role, with a career that spans legal practice, trade association leadership, and international environmental consulting. Before leading the CPA, he worked at the American Chemistry Council and practiced environmental law at Beveridge and Diamond. He also served as an environmental law consultant at the World Bank. His academic background includes a degree from the University of Virginia and a Juris Doctor from Tulane Law School.

This breadth of experience positioned Morrill to lead the AWC at a time when the wood industry was navigating several intersecting challenges and opportunities: the push for taller wood buildings, climate-driven demand for sustainable materials, and evolving building code requirements for fire and seismic performance.

Strategic Priorities Under the New Leadership

Upon his appointment, Morrill outlined several priorities that would shape the AWC’s direction in the coming years:

1. Expanding market opportunities for wood construction by advocating for code provisions that allow wood in building types where it had historically been restricted, particularly mid-rise and tall buildings.
2. Leveraging wood’s sustainability story by promoting the carbon benefits of responsibly sourced structural wood products as a replacement for more carbon-intensive materials like steel and concrete.
3. Strengthening the code development process by ensuring the AWC’s technical expertise continues to inform the ICC’s model codes and the NDS update cycle.
4. Building on the momentum of tall mass timber by supporting research, demonstration projects, and code changes that make wood a viable option for buildings up to 18 stories and beyond.

These priorities reflect a strategic understanding that the wood industry’s growth depends not only on maintaining existing markets but also on opening new ones through code advocacy, research investment, and sustainability messaging. The AWC’s work under Morrill has built on the foundation laid by Glowinski, who oversaw the initial development of tall mass timber provisions in the IBC.

Wood Construction Standards and Building Codes

Building professionals work with wood construction standards daily, often without tracing their origins back to the AWC. Understanding how these standards are developed, updated, and enforced helps specifiers and contractors make informed decisions about materials and design approaches.

How the AWC Standards Become Law

The pathway from AWC technical research to enforceable building code follows a structured process:

1. The AWC conducts or sponsors research on wood performance, including full-scale fire tests, seismic shake-table tests, and long-term durability studies.
2. Research findings are incorporated into the NDS or SDPWS through the AWC’s standards committee process, which includes public comment periods and consensus review.
3. The updated standards are submitted to the ICC for reference in the next cycle of the IBC or IRC.
4. ICC code development hearings consider the proposals alongside competing or complementary proposals from other organizations.
5. Once adopted by the ICC, individual states and local jurisdictions adopt the updated IBC or IRC, often with amendments specific to local conditions.

This five-step process ensures that wood construction standards are grounded in research, vetted through consensus, and aligned with the broader building code framework that governs all construction in the United States.

Key Standards and Their Applications

The NFPA’s adoption of tall mass timber provisions further reinforced the regulatory framework, ensuring that fire protection requirements for mass timber buildings align with the IBC’s new construction types. For building professionals, understanding this interconnected web of standards is essential for specifying materials correctly and obtaining code approval for innovative wood designs.

The Role of Wood in Seismic and Wind Design

Wood structures have a well-documented track record of performance in seismic events, owing to the material’s high strength-to-weight ratio and inherent ductility. The SDPWS, maintained by the AWC, provides the design methodology for shear walls, diaphragms, and other lateral force-resisting systems that enable wood buildings to withstand earthquakes and high winds. Key design considerations include:

• Shear wall aspect ratios and chord forces for perforated and force-transfer around openings methods
• Diaphragm flexibility classification and deflection calculations for wood structural panels
• Hold-down connector selection and anchorage for overturning restraint
• Nailing schedules and panel edge spacing for different wind and seismic design categories

The AWC provides free design aids, including the SDPWS Commentary and the Wood Frame Construction Manual, which help building professionals apply these provisions correctly in their projects.

The Growing Role of Mass Timber and Engineered Wood Products

Perhaps the most significant development in wood construction over the past decade has been the rise of mass timber. Cross-laminated timber (CLT), nail-laminated timber (NLT), and glue-laminated timber (glulam) have opened building typologies that were previously closed to wood. The AWC has been instrumental in developing the code provisions and design standards that make tall mass timber buildings possible.

Tall Mass Timber Code Pathways

The 2021 IBC introduced three new construction types specifically for tall mass timber buildings:

• Type IV-A: Maximum 18 stories, with all mass timber elements fully protected with fire-resistance-rated encapsulation (typically two layers of Type X gypsum board). This is the tallest and most fire-protected category.
• Type IV-B: Maximum 12 stories, with most mass timber elements protected but some exposed timber permitted for visual effect, subject to fire-resistance testing.
• Type IV-C: Maximum 9 stories, with no required encapsulation of mass timber elements, though the elements themselves must meet fire-resistance ratings through their inherent charring behavior.

These provisions were developed through a multi-year process involving the AWC, the ICC, the U.S. Forest Service, the Fire Protection Research Foundation, and numerous academic and industry partners. Washington became the first state to adopt tall mass timber building codes, setting a precedent that other states are now following.

Advantages of Mass Timber Over Conventional Materials

Mass timber offers several performance advantages that building professionals should consider when evaluating structural systems for commercial, institutional, and multi-family projects:

• Carbon sequestration: Wood stores carbon throughout the life of the building, making mass timber one of the few structural materials that can serve as a carbon sink when sourced from sustainably managed forests.
• Renewability: Engineered wood products can be manufactured from smaller-diameter trees and fast-growing species, reducing pressure on old-growth forests and supporting sustainable forestry practices.
• Construction speed: Prefabricated CLT and glulam panels can be erected faster than cast-in-place concrete or structural steel, reducing construction schedules by 20 to 30 percent on typical projects.
• Fire performance: Mass timber chars at a predictable rate (approximately 1.5 inches per hour for CLT), maintaining structural integrity during fire exposure in a way that unprotected steel does not.
• Acoustic performance: The mass and layered construction of CLT panels provide excellent sound transmission class (STC) ratings, reducing the need for additional acoustic treatments.

Specifying Wood Materials for Modern Construction

For building professionals at the specification stage, understanding the range of pressure-treated wood preservation and performance characteristics is essential for matching materials to environmental conditions. Treatment levels, retention rates, and end-use classifications all factor into proper material selection, particularly for exterior or below-grade applications.

When specifying mass timber specifically, building professionals need to consider:

• Moisture management during construction, including protection from precipitation and monitoring of moisture content before enclosure
• Connection detailing for CLT-to-CLT and CLT-to-foundation interfaces, including uplift and shear transfer at panel joints
• Vibration serviceability criteria, since the lighter weight of mass timber floors can lead to perceptible vibration if not designed with appropriate span-to-depth ratios
• Acoustic separation between units in multi-family mass timber buildings, requiring careful detailing of flanking paths at wall-to-floor junctions
• Integration with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, which may require coordination with CLT panel layout and prefabrication planning

The AWC provides detailed technical guides covering each of these considerations, available through its website and technical support line. Building professionals can also refer to project case studies from completed mass timber buildings to understand how specification decisions translated into construction outcomes.

The appointment of Jackson Morrill as AWC president and CEO came at a time when the wood industry was accelerating its transformation. The combination of expanding code pathways for mass timber, growing demand for low-carbon building materials, and sustained investment in wood research means that building professionals who understand the AWC’s role and its standards will be well positioned to specify and construct with wood in ways that were not possible a decade ago. Whether specifying wood windows and fenestration products or engineering a full CLT structural system, familiarity with the AWC’s standards framework is the foundation for successful wood construction.