Opb's State Of Wonder

Will Future High-Rises be Made of Wood?Among all the buildings going up in the biggest boom in Portland history, only one of them can be called the first of its kind in the nation. Instead of relying on steel and concrete, the four-story Albina Yard is built entirely of cross-laminated timber, or CLT for short.Randy Gragg, State of Wonder's architecture columnist in residence, stops by to discusses how CLT stands to revolutionize construction, offering a pre-fabricated material that is faster to build, more resistant to earthquakes, and more sustainable than traditional practices, not to mention it stands to jump start rural economies. The technology is used widely in Europe and Japan, and the state of Oregon is positioning itself to be a leader in the US, with the Yard's architect, Lever, planning to break ground soon on an 11-story CLT high-rise in the Pearl District. The Minders Releases First Studio Album in Ten YearsFor fans of the band The Minders, the appearance of a new song by the band on the PDX Po