Building To Scale

, Founder of stopped by Building to Scale with the team. What began as a brief visit turned into two hours talking building science, answering questions, getting to know the cohort, and reminding them what a meaningful opportunity they have in front of them.

Mark has spent decades educating builders, manufacturers, and industry professionals on how to build better homes. His time, encouragement, and expertise meant a lot to this group.

Building to Scale is about more than technical training. It’s about connecting students with the people, knowledge, and relationships that can help open doors into real careers in the homebuilding industry.

Thank you, Mark and OrePac, for showing up for the next generation of builders! 😌

, you coming to visit next?

The revamped Building to Scale logo on these shirts represents the deep industry partnerships that make this program run. Shoutout to designer Annette Furio Design for bringing it to life, and to HomeAid for being a foundational part of what makes Building to Scale possible.

BIG thank you to Garment Graphics in Hillsboro for going above and beyond to get these done on time. When our order came in late, they were in at 6:30 AM on a Monday to make it happen. 🌞

Though the International Mass Timber Conference has wrapped up, the story of this modular office continues. 🏗

Built through Building to Scale, the structure will now move into its next role as a classroom, where trainees will gain hands-on experience with modular mass-timber construction while preparing for careers in residential building.

Projects like this show how education, industry collaboration, and community partnerships can come together to create real pathways into construction careers.

We’re grateful to the many partners helping support workforce development and mass timber innovation across Oregon, including Freres Wood, the Oregon Mass Timber Coalition, the TallWood Design Institute at the University of Oregon, Marcus Kauffman and the Oregon Department of Forestry, and Clackamas Community College President Tim Cook.

Photos by Shelby Coleman.

This week’s International Mass Timber Conference showcased the modular office we built. Before the conference began, it drew the attention of State Representative Mark Gamba of Milwaukie.

Gamba, who has long focused on housing solutions in Oregon, joined Tigard High School students at MODS PDX to see the structure and learn how modular construction and mass timber can support housing and workforce development.

Home Building Foundation-HomeAid Portland
Freres Wood

Students from Tigard High School visited the MODS PDX warehouse to see the modular office currently featured at the International Mass Timber Conference up close.

The visit gave students the chance to step inside the shop, learn how modular mass-timber construction works, and hear directly from the team behind the project.

Advanced CTE students helped build parts of the structure alongside Building to Scale participants — getting a firsthand look at the tools, materials, and collaboration that go into modern residential construction.

Special thanks to CTE and math teacher James Swindle for bringing the group.
Home Building Foundation-HomeAid Portland

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This week at the International Mass Timber Conference in Portland, attendees are registering inside a modular office built right here at the MODS PDX warehouse.

Built through Building to Scale, the structure reflects our approach to hands-on training in modular mass-timber construction for residential building.

The office incorporates Mass Plywood Panels (MPP) from Freres Wood, demonstrating how modular construction and mass timber can support scalable housing solutions.

Over the next week we’ll share more about the project — including the students, partners, and industry leaders who helped bring it together and where the structure will live after the conference.

Meet the team behind Building to Scale.

This work doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s built through collaboration between designers, builders, educators, and industry leaders working toward the same goal: expanding pathways into residential construction and helping address Oregon’s housing needs.

Left to right:
Kegan Flanderka (Principal, Base Design + Architecture), Drew Shreiner (Principal, Base Design + Architecture), Regan Schutz (Executive Director, Home Building Foundation-HomeAid Portland), Pete Victor (Director of Planning & Operations, MODS PDX), and Nathan Young (Founder, Building to Scale).

Photos by Andrea Lonas.