Mass Timber in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Facilities

United Therapeutics’ most recent development is a 196,000 square-foot pharmaceutical manufacturing facility, designed to achieve zero embodied and operational carbon. It features cGMP cleanrooms, a warehouse, refrigerated storage, laboratories, a central utility plant, and offices.

This facility is Type VB construction, with hybrid mass timber and steel structure, timber curtain walls and natural siding — all of which are atypical in pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. The design underscores the client’s environmental goals while adhering to regulatory requirements. Early collaboration with Nordic in a design-assist capacity facilitated the design of efficient structural systems that aligned with the GC’s construction schedule.

This collaboration helped the project team navigate a 10% cost reduction effort during design, preserving the mass timber structure, and maintaining production throughput.

Despite being early in construction, the project has yielded valuable insights, including that larger structural spans beneficial for manufacturing can lead to shrinkage and creep exceeding those of conventional steel structures.

Organic construction materials such as mass timber are not typically utilized in cGMP facilities. WARP10 exemplifies a groundbreaking approach to mass timber construction, setting a precedent for other biotech companies to follow with a unified vision and strategic partnerships.

Jennifer Wampler

Principal
EwingCole

View Bio

Andrew Campbell

Associate Director, Corporate Real Estate
United Therapeutics Corporation

View Bio

William Smarzewski

Associate
EwingCole

View Bio

Mass Timber in Datacenter Construction: Who Wood Have Thought?

MODERATOR: Stephan Tolnai

Stephen Tolnai

Sr. Vice President - Sales and Marketing
SmartLam North America™

View Bio

John Ferns

Project Architect
Gensler

View Bio

Rob LoBuono

Architect, Critical Facilities Leader
Gensler

View Bio

Thomas Hooker

Associate
Thornton Tomasetti

View Bio

Stephen Szycher

Managing Principal
Thornton Tomasetti

View Bio

Session CEUs: Course Description and Learning Objectives

Course Description

This session will detail how an innovative project is setting a new precedent for future biotech facility construction. United Therapeutics’ new 196,000-square-foot pharmaceutical manufacturing facility aims to achieve zero embodied and operational carbon, utilizing a structural system not often seen in pharmaceutical facilities. The building features cGMP cleanrooms, warehouses, refrigerated storage, laboratories, a utility plant, and offices—built with a hybrid mass timber and steel system. Attendees will learn how the project design emphasizes sustainability while meeting regulatory requirements, including a discussion about how early mass timber manufacturer collaboration helped optimize structural systems and reduce costs by 10%.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the potential of hybrid mass timber and steel construction in specialized manufacturing facilities
2. Explore strategies for achieving zero embodied and operational carbon in hybrid mass-timber design
3. Examine the benefits and challenges of using mass timber in cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) environments
4. Identify the role of early mass timber manufacturer collaboration in cost reduction and design optimization for specialized facilities