Work begins on US Forest Products Laboratory facility

Construction work has begun on a US$36m research facility (MUL) for the US Forest Service’s Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) in Madison, Wisconsin.

The 90,000ft² multi-use laboratory will provide space for research into wood preservation, durability, engineering mechanics and composite sciences, including injection moulding and extrusion, and, according to FPL, will “greatly improve scientific capabilities”.

It is to feature state-of-the-art equipment, including a purpose-built stainless steel weathering chamber to test timber’s response to wind, sunlight, humidity and rain, as well as a laboratory dedicated to investigating the moisture transport properties of wood products.

The building itself is set to be a combined wood and steel structure, with the groundbreaking ceremony carried out on August 15 and construction work due to be finished in January 2010.