The Wood Institute Expands Offerings

The Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) recently released an updated version of the Wood Institute, the industry’s online learning website, for accredited continuing education courses for architects, engineers, code officials, green building consultants, and other design and construction professionals. The site’s new layout and technical upgrades make it easier for users and course providers to engage with wood education. The redesign also enables the development of a more comprehensive array of non-course content, including blog posts, recorded webinars, and articles and guides targeting postsecondary architecture and engineering students and faculty.

Launched in 2020, the Wood Institute currently features over 170 courses developed by the American Wood Council (AWC), Think Wood, WoodWorks, and third-party sources. In 2021, its first full year, over 1,200 unique users completed nearly 6,500 hours of learning focused on designing and building with wood. This includes courses on CLT, mass timber, embodied carbon, LCA, fire and seismic performance, occupant health and biophilia, and building codes—approved for CE credit by the AIA, GBCI, NCSEA, ICC, and AIBD.

The Wood Institute is one of several recent educational investments and initiatives launched by the SLB as part of a strategic push to ensure that current and future generations of building professionals are motivated and equipped to build with wood.