Mass Timber Interdisciplinary Studio

10 pages•Published: June 2, 2026

Lauren Elizabeth Hackney, Maryam Kouhirostami and Jeff Ponitz

Abstract

The Mass Timber Interdisciplinary Studio at Cal Poly’s College of Architectural and Environmental Design originated as an innovative approach to bridge the gap between traditional disciplinary silos and the collaborative demands of modern architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) practice. The studio evolved from the Integrated Project, Design, and Program Management course in Construction Management and was restructured to serve as a college-wide interdisciplinary experience that included Construction Management, Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Architectural Engineering faculty and students. Together, these disciplines and their roles in the Mass Timber Interdisciplinary Studio simulated professional collaboration and negotiation in a project-based learning environment. This paper discusses the stakeholders, course design, and project-based learning strategies undertaken in the course, offering lessons for AEC professional and academic parties who may be interested in educational partnerships. Through a shared design project, field work, lectures by mass timber construction industry partners, and collaboration skill-building, the Mass Timber Interdisciplinary Studio provided students with an opportunity to learn together about a material that is both traditional and cutting-edge, a regional resource with global implications, and an exemplar of the interdisciplinary knowledge needed to pursue ambitious climate action goals.

Keyphrases: built environment, collaboration, interdisciplinary design collaboration, mass timber

In: Wesley Collins, Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico (editors). Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference, vol 7, pages 177-186.

Links:	https://easychair.org/publications/paper/LNgj
	https://doi.org/10.29007/4dv6

BibTeX entry

@inproceedings{ASC2026:Mass_Timber_Interdisciplinary_Studio,
  author    = {Lauren Elizabeth Hackney and Maryam Kouhirostami and Jeff Ponitz},
  title     = {Mass Timber Interdisciplinary Studio},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of Associated Schools of Construction 62nd Annual International Conference},
  editor    = {Wesley Collins and Anthony Perrenoud and John Posillico},
  series    = {EPiC Series in Built Environment},
  volume    = {7},
  publisher = {EasyChair},
  bibsource = {EasyChair, https://easychair.org},
  issn      = {2632-881X},
  url       = {/publications/paper/LNgj},
  doi       = {10.29007/4dv6},
  pages     = {177-186},
  year      = {2026}}

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