The Future of Mass Timber with Tom S. Chung, FAIA, Principal

Principal and Design Leader at Leers Weinzapfel Associates, Tom has spent nearly a decade producing mass timber projects that have quietly reset expectations at institutional scale — among them the Olver Design Building, Adohi Hall, the Environmental Education Center, and the forthcoming National Conservation Legacy Center. Work that doesn't just perform. Work that gets studied.
His keynote, Architecture Evolved: The Future of Mass Timber, traces how engineered timber moved from emerging material to transformational construction system — and what that shift means for how architects design, specify, and deliver buildings now.

Over the course of the evening, Tom will cover:

• How mass timber has evolved over the past decade from innovation to essential building strategy
• Real-world insights into designing for sustainability, constructability, and long-term performance
• How fabrication technology and collaborative delivery are shaping what's possible
• Practical frameworks for leading complex timber projects with clarity and confidence
• What it means to design buildings that are lighter on the planet and richer for the people inside them
• Candid, technical, and grounded in built work. This is the conversation the industry needs to be having.

Speaker BIO: Tom S. Chung, FAIA, is a Principal at Leers Weinzapfel Associates, a Boston-based architecture practice internationally recognised for design excellence, material innovation, and leadership in sustainable architecture. Tom joined the firm in 2004 and has played a central role in shaping some of its most influential projects, including pioneering work in large-scale mass timber buildings across North America.

Tom earned a Master of Architecture from the Harvard Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Virginia. His career has been defined by a commitment to architecture that is both technically rigorous and deeply responsive to people, place, and environment.

Over the past decade, Tom has led award-winning projects that have helped redefine the possibilities of engineered timber construction, including the Olver Design Building at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Adohi Hall at the University of Arkansas, the Environmental Education Center at Auburn University, and the forthcoming National Conservation Legacy Center in Montana. These projects have become global benchmarks for how mass timber can deliver buildings that are more sustainable, more humane, and more beautifully crafted.

Tom’s work focuses on the integration of structure, materiality, and environmental performance, with a particular interest in how emerging construction technologies can elevate both architectural quality and human experience. As an advocate for thoughtful, place-based design, he brings a collaborative and research-driven approach to every project—from early concept through to built reality.

Through his teaching, lectures, and built work, Tom continues to contribute to the evolving conversation around mass timber and the future of sustainable architecture, inspiring architects to rethink how buildings are designed, made, and experienced.