Mass Timber for the People

Moderated by LEVER Architecture Founder and early mass timber innovator, Thomas Robinson, this keynote panel will dive into the inspiring journey of visionary leaders driving district scale developments on Portland, Oregon’s waterfront.

Beginning with the origin story of Portland’s experiments with mass timber in 2015 and how the goals of those early projects were instrumental in the current timber boom, this interactive session will discuss: What does it take for these developments to use mass timber to advance workforce equity and sustainability while revitalizing Portland’s east side through community building? How can this work be a blueprint for district scale mass timber development?

Hear about the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry’s 24 acre/3 million square foot district development plan from Erin Graham, President and CEO of OMSI.

See the remedy for the last 50 years of displacement and disinvestment in the Albina neighborhood through the eyes of Winta Yohannes, the Executive Director of the Albina Vision Trust.

Learn how both of their projects are being realized from Alex Colas, Vice President of Colas Construction, the largest Black-owned construction firm on the West Coast. Alex and his teams are building the first projects on each of these important sites.

Erin Graham

President and CEO
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry

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Alex Colas

VP, Preconstruction
Colas Construction, Inc.

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Winta Yohannes

Executive Director
Albina Vision Trust

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