2015 Tall Wood Building Competition Winner on Hold

The last remaining winning project of the 2015 Tall Wood Building Competition has been placed on hold indefinitely. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture held a competition that was not authorized by Congress to award two $1.5 million prizes for the design of a tall wood building over 85 feet. Two prizes were awarded – one for the design of a tall wood building in New York City and one for Oregon. The project in New York City was shut down several years ago on public safety concerns. With the announcement that the Oregon project has been placed on hold, the recipients of the taxpayer-funded Tall Wood Building Competition have come to a halt, demonstrating that public safety and market forces do not support the construction of tall wood buildings.

These developments further underscore that the Tall Wood Building Competition is a waste of taxpayer dollars to gain an unfair market advantage. NRMCA and a coalition of like-minded interests has led the fight against Congress approving a Tall Wood Building Competition, and has successfully kept provisions like this out of bills. NRMCA is watching closely as the House and Senate farm bills proceed and will continue to oppose these provisions.

For more information, contact Andrew Tyrrell at atyrrell@nrmca.org.