Milgard Hall will house:
It has been described as “wood from small trees, made into big things (Crosscut),” and “a catchall term for engineered wood that’s cut into slabs and then stacked together to make strong panels or beams (The World).”
Although wood has been laminated in various ways for decades (plywood, grand piano rims), the mass-timber revolution incorporates sustainable forestry, digital modeling, off-site fabrication, and carbon capture.
Architectural Record’s “Mass Timber on the Rise” provides a good overview.
A notable feature of Milgard Hall will be an exhibit on the history of the timber industry in Tacoma, to be located on the ground floor in an area known as the "connector."
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians played a prominent role in the design of the display. Adjacent to the exhibit is a panel acknowledging that UW Tacoma occupies what has been Puyallup land since time immemorial.
The timber exhibit depicts the Puget Sound region before the arrival of Europeans, the coming of the railroads, the growth of Tacoma, the opening of UW Tacoma and the significance of Milgard Hall.