Timber Strong

This engineering competition challenges student teams to design and speed-build a 2-story wood light-framed building.

The team first uses the fundamentals of the Design Thinking Process to analyze the new rules for the competition and ideate a unique design that not only meets this year’s parameters but goes above and beyond.

Then the team used Mathcad and handwritten calculations to compute the structural parameters that aligned with the structure’s design. Revit is the 3D modeling software used to create the structure’s BIM Model, which ensures cohesiveness between the design model and plans that are used to fabricate the structure.

The Timber Strong build team practiced twice a week throughout the semester leading up to the regional competition. Throughout these sessions, they framed, sheathed, optimized the structure, and completed practice builds.

The MTU Timber Strong team has created a final project that has been awarded Best in Show & 2nd place Overall at the 2026 ASCE Eastern Great Lakes Regional competition. The team’s regional performance demonstrated its dedication to structural excellence, refined fabrication efforts, and outstanding aesthetic considerations.

The final structure was themed Tree House and included fantastic color, texture, and detailed work, all designed by members of the team.

Reflecting on the results, the team plans to improve next year’s attention to safety requirements to prevent potential penalties. Overall, the 2026 Timber Strong team had made considerable progress in the foundations for MTU’s continued participation in this competition.