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Could Portland’s skyline one day be full of wooden skyscrapers? The head of the University of Oregon’s Department of Architecture, Judith Sheine, has a simple answer: 鈥淵es.鈥�

Cross-laminated timber, an emerging wood product, was feted by government and green industry reps at last week’s Best Fest clean technology conference. Gov. Kate Brown and others discussed CLT‘s potential wide-ranging impacts, 聽including a return of wood in tall buildings.

鈥淲hole generations have been taught to not use wood,鈥� said Sheine.

Cross-laminated timber is made by bonding together perpendicular layers of dimensional lumber to form panels that can be used in walls, floors and roofs. It’s manufactured in factories and snapped into place on-site. Considered as strong as steel or concrete, it has engineers and architects excited about lower construction costs and a reduced carbon footprint.

In March, Fast Company named CLT one of its 鈥淭op Five Trends Shaping the Future of Architecture.鈥� Supporters call it the most innovative new wood product since the invention of the I-joist in 1969. They say it could revitalize Oregon’s timber industry, which has struggled since the federal government stopped selling timber in large volumes in the early 1990s.

CLT is already used in multi-family and commercial construction in Europe and Canada. It was used in the 10-story Forte building in Melbourne, Australia, completed in 2012 鈥� currently the tallest timber-framed building in the world.

CLT can be found in Portland, though closer to the ground 鈥� in the roof of a new bathroom at the Oregon Zoo. But policy in the U.S. still reflects fears about wood frames in high-rises.

Current codes restricting wood in buildings taller than six stories emerged from the deadly Chicago Fire of 1871 and the Seattle Fire of 1889, according to Lech Muszynski, associate professor at Oregon State University’s College of Forestry, Wood Science and Engineering.

鈥淥ur technology has been limited by these 19^th century laws,鈥� he said.

The University of Oregon’s Sheine said CLT is actually safer than steel or reinforced concrete. Mass timber like CLT chars on the outside while retaining its strength, she said, and load-testing has shown CLT is more resistant to seismic forces.

This year, CLT was incorporated in the International Building Code, but regulatory hurdles remain at the local level, said Muszynski. Plus, there are the high upfront costs currently associated with CLT. Last month, a Riddle, Oregon, mill became the only U.S. business certified to manufacture CLT. It spent $2 million to purchase its prototype press, plus nearly $3 million for a CNC machine.

DR Johnson has contracts to supply CLT to two building projects in Oregon 鈥� the Richard Woodcock Education Center at Western Oregon University and the Albina Yard project in Portland 鈥� and company reps say the business is in talks with many more interested parties.