The Floating Grove: Inside NC State’s First Mass Timber Pavilion

This summer, the School of Architecture’s Design + Build program unveiled its latest construction. The Floating Grove, an open-air pavilion, sits nestled between Biltmore Hall and Jordan Hall at the College of Natural Resources (CNR), and claims the title of the university’s first mass timber structure.

What began nearly two years ago as a concept for a bus shelter evolved into a full-fledged pavilion: a work-in-progress that became a permanent gathering space where community and nature intersect.

Materials, Place and Student Vision

For Graduate Architecture Student Arda Unal, the project marks a full-circle moment. After starting his NC State journey as an undergraduate in the College of Natural Resources, he saw the Design + Build studio as a rare chance to contribute something lasting to a campus that’s shaped his academic path since 2017.

“What excited me most was the opportunity to work hands-on with an emerging building material,” he said. “Getting to design and build a structure that will live on this campus in an area I used to frequent felt incredibly meaningful.”

That hands-on focus resonated just as strongly for Sadhana Srinivasan, who came to NC State as a transfer student and was eager to gain real-world experience beyond the traditional studio environment.

“Being able to work with mass timber was an exciting opportunity,” Srinivasan said. “It’s a material that’s being researched more and more, especially in relation to sustainability. Knowing this project would directly impact a campus I’ve grown to love made it even more meaningful.”

Early design work focused heavily on how the pavilion would meet the ground, connect to existing paths and preserve the site’s mature trees. Students explored how to keep the space open for visibility while still feeling intimate enough for classes, small gatherings or quiet study. Students carefully considered how people would move between Jordan and Biltmore Halls, using the pavilion as both a connector and a place to pause

Accessibility, safety and visibility were central to those conversations. “We wanted the space to feel open and inviting, but also comfortable and secure for everyone using it,” Srinivasan said.

One of the key attributes of the construction was the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT), a strong, prefabricated engineered wood product made from layers of solid lumber glued together with perpendicular grain. A major priority was showcasing mass timber honestly, letting CLT panels and regional lumber do the structural and aesthetic heavy lifting. “We kept returning to simplicity,” Unal said. “A design that allowed the mass timber to be the focus and speak for itself.”

The Challenge of Building at Full Scale

Floating Grove was created in just eleven weeks, pushing the team to figure out not only the design details but the realities of material acquisition as well.

“One of the biggest challenges was finding manufacturers who could work with our accelerated schedule,” Unal said. “We had to do a lot of explaining, a lot of calling and a lot of persuading. But we eventually found partners who believed in what we were doing.”

Material constraints also shaped the design. Srinivasan noted that the CLT panels available for the project were limited to 4-foot-by-8-foot dimensions, a restriction that directly influenced how the panels were organized and how glulam beams were integrated into the structure.

Their persistence paid off, resulting in a broad network of collaborators from timber suppliers to hardware manufacturers, mixing alumni connections, industry partners and local craftspeople who helped the students bring the pavilion to life.

“That constraint ended up shaping the pavilion you see today,” Srinivasan said. “It forced us to think carefully about efficiency, structure and how each element worked together.” Weather added another layer of complexity near the end of construction, but steady collaboration across students, faculty, professionals and vendors kept the project moving forward.

“A skill I will forever cherish from this experience is the importance of collaboration, communication and the relationships you build doing the work,” she continued. “The ability to reach out to vendors, professors or university partners when we had to acquire our materials made it easier for us as students to be able to execute our project successfully.”

Collaboration with Personality

Design + Build studios always require teamwork, but this year’s group fully embraced it — and occasionally embraced chaos.

“Collaboration looked like waking up to 125 notifications because the group chat was always activated,” reflects Unal.

Unal proposed building a custom jig using a chainsaw to accurately cut the knife-plate slots into the bases of the columns. “At the beginning, everyone thought I was crazy,” he said, “but it ultimately worked and allowed us to construct the pavilion the way we wanted.”

The solution became one of the project’s most memorable examples of improvisation, shared problem-solving and hands-on ingenuity that the Design + Build studio is known for.

For Unal, the finished pavilion brings both pride and relief.

“I had a quiet fear that no one would use it,” he admitted. “So seeing people spending time under the structure, enjoying the space we poured so much into, is incredibly rewarding.” 

He’s already carrying lessons forward. Watching faculty call on long-standing relationships with local craftspeople highlighted the importance of connecting across trades. “Those relationships make projects like this possible,” he said. “I want to build and maintain those in my own career because you never know when you’ll need someone’s expertise or when you’ll be able to support them in return.”

A Pavilion in Use

For both students, seeing Floating Grove actively used has been deeply rewarding.

“I had a quiet fear that no one would use it,” Unal admitted. “So seeing people spending time under the structure, enjoying a space we poured so much into, is incredibly rewarding.”

Srinivasan echoed that sentiment, particularly during the ribbon-cutting celebration.

“It was exciting to hear faculty from the College of Natural Resources appreciate the pavilion not only as a research-forward material application, but as a place they now host events and meetings,” she said. “Seeing people occupy the space the way we envisioned is incredibly meaningful.”

Success Through Partnerships

Floating Grove represents an evolution in NC State’s Design + Build legacy and a growing campus conversation around mass timber, sustainability and hands-on learning. Furthermore, it couldn’t have come to life without the support of the design community and beyond.

Primary funding for Floating Grove was provided by the NC State Sustainability Fund, William Valentine and the Softwood Lumber Board. Additional support came from the College of Design, the College of Natural Resources and the University Sustainability Office.

“The Floating Grove project shows what’s possible when creativity, collaboration and commitment to sustainability come together,” said Mark Hoversten, dean of the College of Design. “It’s a space shaped by many hands and minds, and serves as a reflection of our students’ talent and the power of design to shape our campus and community.”

For the students who built it, the pavilion is also a reminder of the importance of relationships across trades, disciplines and institutions.

“Watching our professors reach out to people they’ve worked with for years showed me how essential those connections are,” Srinivasan said. “That’s something I’ll carry into every project moving forward.”

Materials for the project were donated by many industry partners, including A Ward Architecture, Alpine Roofing, Armature Design Build, Buildsense, Construction Metal Products, Christian Nonino, Doggett Concrete Construction, Evergreen CLT, Fitch Lumber and Hardware, Fred Construction, Jim Dautremont, Jordan Lumber, Sansin, Scalene Design, Simpson Strong – Tie and White Cap.