The Great Dharma Chan Monastery

Glue laminated timber beams and exposed CLT roof panels were selected not only for their aesthetics but also their minimal carbon footprint. The three-foot deep exposed glulam beams and CLT deck are meant to evoke a tranquil and protective forest canopy under which practitioners of Chan Buddhism can meditate, attend classes, and share meals together undistracted. The warmth and natural aesthetic of these materials all align with the principals of minimalism and simplicity that are key to the practice of Buddhism. The use of CLT mass timber provides a substantially smaller environmental footprint than traditional building materials. Wood itself as a building material offers two large advantages compared to alternative methods like concrete and steel; harvesting wood is less carbon intensive than extracting other materials from the ground and timber buildings store carbon that would otherwise be emitted into the atmosphere. Specifically, our material choices in turn avoided 490 metric tons of CO2 emission (equivalent to keeping 138 cars off the road for one year).