Business View Magazine | July 2020

110 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JULY 2020 S TION + TE C lemson University’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute (WU+D) is both a multidisciplinary engine of innovation and a creative site, uniting architects, constructors, engineers, and foresters involved in advancing wood-based construction materials and designs to compete with concrete, steel, and other materials currently dominating the non- residential construction market. “The Institute was formally approved in 2013, but it really existed prior to that with trying to understand what Clemson could be doing to help forest landowners in South Carolina,” explains Director, Patricia Layton. “We had an overabundance of timber but lacked adequate markets for all of the private landowners in our state. Sawmills were going out of business and there was no place to sell timber, which is a big economic engine for South Carolina—it accounts for more than $21 billion in the economy. In 2010, timber had dropped dramatically, so we worked to identify a market share for wood products.” Wood was already a big player in the construction of residential buildings, but that Engineering a wood revolution