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The NEWBeamery has been full of finishing touches, though we’ve been running jobs through the Oikos X for the last few months. Timber frames plus fabricate & finish jobs for partners in the mass timber space. Now we’re taking a moment to celebrate some smaller things on the non-production side that make the shop feel like home.  

Timber Frame Entry
It wouldn’t be a New Energy Works space if it didn’t have a timber frame greeting. Back when we moved to McMinnville in the early 2000’s adding a truss to the front door was one of our first to-dos.

Same here, as The NEWBeamery gets an official raising of a timber frame entry and porch. It sets the stage for what’s to come inside and gives a taste to visitors of our roots. Though not visible from the road as a greeting, it certainly adds warmth and suggests respite for the mostly industrial complex.

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Deep in the woods on the east side of New York’s Hudson River there’s a view. And the view is spectacular. But on a particular property, the view is not one you can see from the house, it’s one you have to be led to. To find. And to find or be shown this view by someone who has found it, is a gift. A gift from experience on the property, the journey, a gift from nature.

And thus standing at the top of this hill, peering out to this view of the Catskill mountains is architect Barry Price and his client. A client who wants to share this view, this space, this moment with his family. To perch out on the hill and become one with the scenery.

“So I said ‘so what? Like a pavilion? Like a deck? What are you thinking?’,” shares Price “And the client says ‘Well I don’t know. You know I think we might want to come in here in the winter…have a glass of wine…’ and it was clear from the beginning that this was something more than just a shade structure.”

And in the end, it is more than just a shade structure. In fact, The Perch is an architect’s “folly.”

“In the history of architecture there’s a thing called a folly,” explains Price. “A folly is when an architect has an opportunity to pursue something that they’re super interested in because the building doesn’t have a specific purpose other than pursuing a particular interest or passion. So from time-to-time you get lucky enough to have a client who gives you an opportunity to go down a worm hole of something that you’re interested in.”

For those new to the story, we're building a new 20,000 sqft timber frame and glulam production shop in McMinnville, Oregon, affectionately called the NEWBeamery. In a visually captivating event, we installed the final massive 90’ European-style trusses were raised in May. As we write this, the final roof SIP is being put in place, which was the method of installation. Raise some glulam trusses, install the rafters, and then place the SIP roof pieces.

This is a major milestone in our expansion and investment in the McMinnville community. The space, set to be complete by the end of 2024, is a collaboration many emerging planet-focused materials suppliers including biochar concrete from Solid Carbon, wood fiber insulation from TimberHP, net-zero carbon rebar from Cascade Steel, and glulam timbers from American Laminators in part made from sustainably sourced timber from Yakima Forest Products.

“There's a high degree of technical forecasting that we needed to do...it was such a team effort. Figuring out where to pre-assemble the trusses and then have them in a way that we could continue to raise them was a feat.” says Oliver Ogden, New Energy Works West Coast General Manager.

"We assembled the trusses on their sides, and then lifted each one on an angle and rotated it to install. The logistics of this, given that the trusses are as wide as the building, were tricky but incredibly important."

We're looking forward to continuing our legacy creating highly-crafted and lyrical timber frames in the new space, and looking forward to the additional capabilities the new space and CNC machine will lend us. 

New Energy Works in collaboration with the McMinnville Economic Development Partnership, Representative Lucetta Elmer, and Mayor Remy Drabkin hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for our new 20,000 square foot production facility in McMinnville Oregon on Thursday, December 21st.

With this new facility, employee-owned New Energy Works will be expanding our McMinnville operations adding new cutting edge CNC equipment, offices, and production space to our existing campus, which will increase our capabilities and service offerings, resulting in regional growth and expanded employment opportunities in the McMinnville community.

Our friend Brian Libby recently wrote this budget breakdown overview of our CLT Home project in Oregon for DWELL Magazine.

See our case study: Cross Laminated Timber Home | New Energy Works

Project Credits:

Architect: Alan Morris Architect

Builder: New Energy Works

Photography: Noel Adams

State College, PA: Homeowners Jim and Cheryl came to us with a dream home request: design and craft a home for two which could also easily accommodate much larger gatherings with family and friends. The resulting simple and classic cruciform plan for their hybrid timber frame home fits the couple while incorporating space—inside and out—for others.

Jim and Cheryl, their children, and their friends attended the same university near State College in PA where game season is a great reason to join together. The couple found a site nestled at the base of a long rise to the mountains on one side, and open to expansive views into Nittney Valley on the other. “We wanted to take advantage of the views and offer additional space for intensive entertaining to flow outside,” explained Ty Allen, our design/build manager. “The result is nearly 2,000 sq ft of outdoor deck, porch, and patio space in addition to interior living areas.”

Screen porches and a terrace for grilling connect to the fire pit stone patio area which in turn is tied back to the rec area with connecting landscaping. The lower level of the home offers guest and rec space with overflow sleeping ready in the bunk house over the garage. Photo (C) Scott Hemenway

Enclosure, mechanicals, and moving in. What’s the latest with our CLT build?

We began raising the first complete Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building in New York State on our main campus in Farmington, NY in late January 2017. A combination of mass timber, heavy timber, and CLTs, the 21,000 sq ft building will house our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks, and offer a bit of storage/shipping for our sister company, Pioneer Millworks. Progress since May has included:

Wood fiber installation, another product which is new to the US. Also referred to as “out-sulation” since it is installed on the outside of projects, the Wood Fiber panels offer 3.5R per inch, are FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified, and are a carbon sink – for each 1 m3 used, up to 1 tonne of CO2 is bound within the product. Made by Steico, we found this product installed with a fair amount of ease and is performing well.

The custom CNC cut corner tree received a coat of stain and is now sheltered behind glass.