News & Resources - Customer Focus
9Wood, Inc.
Geckos Apply Here
Who else thinks walking on a ceiling is normal? Spiders maybe. People not. So why bother with what's up there? Nail up some sheetrock, slap on a little mauve, saffron, cinnabar, or just plain white paint and call it a day. Geckos aren't particularly fussy.
WHHS Imaging Center
But this isn't a story about Geckos. It's about ceilings. A ceiling that warms a soul, that smells of life, that wraps itself around your mind and says, "relax, you're welcome here."
It goes by a spider-like name - Suspended Wood Ceilings - or more specifically, standard suspension systems or customized suspension systems. They're made by 9Wood, Division 9 Engineered-to-Order Wood Ceilings. Now, take that in your web, spidey.
Why Wood Ceilings?
Why not? Why wouldn't you want to work, live, and visit in a space with a ceiling that made you feel a sense of awe, of wonder? A space where the textures and shapes invited you in, instead of locking you out. A space where art meets craft and design meets function. Go ahead - look up. Just a ceiling? Hardly.
Master Fabricators
Enter 9Wood. Master fabricators of suspended wood ceilings. They're the middle of the finest gourmet sandwich to be savored and remembered. In the beginning is nature's gift - the trees. Depending on the clients wishes, the trees can come from well-managed, sustainably harvested, FSC-certified forests. Either way, the tress are the bread part of this analogy. In the middle is the carefully assembled, artfully layered ingredients. No slap-dash Miracle Whip and a soggy pickle here. Master sous-chefs. Nothing less. That's the role of 9Wood. They fabricate the wood to meet the designer's specifications. Or, if we were sticking to our sandwich theme - the chef - who dreams the dream. 9Wood builds those dreams, each one individually customized. The dessert comes from the highly skilled installation contractors."
Passion
Oregon Health & Science University
You don't become Master Fabricators by waving your own praise around like confetti. You get there through years and years of an unyielding desire to "do it right." From the four founders of 9Wood to the project managers, engineers, draftsmen, and production craftsmen, their incredibly talented team brings over 75 years of experience that makes them a leader in the wood ceiling industry.
A recent project at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) Health & Healing Center in Portland, Oregon is just one example of how their knowledge, patented product innovations, and manufacturing efficiencies translate into award-winning buildings.
Hoping to attain US Green Building's highest LEED rating - Platinum, 9Wood partnered with the 2005 CISCA award-winning acoustical subcontractor, Western Partitions and manufacturer's rep, Jerald Schwarz of Schwarz & Associates to deliver one of the largest installed FSC-certified wood ceilings in the US. They chose CollinsWood Hem-Fir from the Collins Companies' FSC-certified Collins Almanor Forest in Chester, California.
"The 24,000 square foot wood ceiling helps the character of the building. It softens it to make it more residential compared to an institutional feel. The ceiling in this project turned out great." -Ross Hale, GBD Architects - Portland, OR - Architect on OHSU project
Lee Jimerson, of The Collins Companies, added:
"The OHSU building was the epitome of what FSC is all about. It was the largest project in the history of our company using CollinsWood FSC Hem-Fir for a wood ceiling application. There's no doubt that this project will help advance the green building cause in the future."
Building memorable projects is not new to 9wood. In 2006, they received the CISCA Chairman's Award for the San Francisco Federal Office Building.
Roots Run Deep
RWI Ventures
What is the common thread that holds 9Wood together? After all, they list an alphabet soup of titles - Project Management, AutoCAD, Financial Management, Supply Chain Management, Research & Development, Engineered-to-Order Craftsman, and Manufacturing Operations. So the answer certainly isn't in titles. The common thread that binds this company together is shared values.
"It all boils down to some words that are often bantered about but seldom guide day-to-day actions. Words like - integrity, responsibility, accountability, consensus-based decision making, and profit sharing. Plus attitudes like humility, respect, and the fun of working together." -Leo Batenhorst - 9Wood
Marin Academy
Outsourcing? Please
"We never outsource the most important steps in custom wood ceiling fabrication: finishing, assembly, and packaging." -Charley Coury, General Manager - 9Wood
On the contrary, 9Wood offers clients a broad range of services, each one of which emphasizes quality control. On the wood side, clients can choose from a wide selection, including Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Red & White Oak, Pacific Albus, Cherry, Ash, Birch, White and Natural Maple, as well as imported and exotic species, such as Mahogany, Teak, African Mahogany, and Anigre. The wood & veneers can be ordered FSC-certified or not, depending on the clients needs. They offer clear finishes or custom stains (per AWI specifications), acoustical enhancements, rating and performance capabilities, 3-D AutoCAD capability, and budgeting/design help.
LEED Certification
From universities to institutions, from corporate headquarters to public centers, architects, designers, and contractors have embraced the US Green Buildings Council's innovative LEED program to build "green." And we're not talking "green wash" but a very careful, step-by-step evaluation of the entire building process. In the case of the OHSU building, one of the challenges was finding a source of FSC-certified wood within 500 mile radius required for LEED certification credit.
Providence Newberg
"We needed a supplier who could meet the design intent, budget, and volume necessary to complete the job. Our choice was CollinsWood, based in Portland, Oregon with a forest and mill in Chester, California - only 400 miles from Portland." -Charley Coury, General Manager - 9Wood
That collaboration resulted in the manufacturing and installation of a massive FSC-certified wood ceiling in the OHSU building - a ceiling that played an important role in not only the tangible quantifiable figures for LEED equations (weights, values, etc.) but also for its aesthetic and visual attributes. It's Platinum status tells the rest of the story.
Contact Information
9Wood, Inc.
999 South A Street
Springfield, Oregon, USA 97477
888.767.9990