Can Wooden Skyscrapers Transform Concrete Jungles?
Source: http://www.cwc.ca
#wooden #skyscrapers #architecture #construction
Instead of concrete jungles could our cities become urban forests of wooden skyscrapers? Swapping cement and steel for timber is the vision of a number of environmentally-minded architects who are planning high-rise buildings across the world.
As reported CNN, Architect Michael Green, one of three principals at McFarlane Green Biggar Architecture + Design (mgb), has plans for a 30-story wooden skyscraper in Vancouver, while plans are afoot in Norway and Austria for 17 and 20-story building that use wood as the main building material, eschewing steel and concrete.
The modern wood materials have been around for 20 years, but until recently they have been quite niche or used only in low-rise buildings. What has changed is the way in which architects and builders are thinking about using wood. The real change came when people started about climate change. Steel and concrete are great but not environmentally friendly.
Cutting down trees to make buildings doesn't immediately sound eco-friendly either, but if sourced from sustainably managed forests (like those in Europe and North America), it can be more environmentally sensitive. Wood buildings lock in carbon dioxide for the life cycle of a structure, while the manufacture of steel and concrete produces large amounts of CO2 -- the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimate that for every 10 kilos of cement created, six to nine kilos of CO2 are produced.
Green's "Tallwood" structure is designed with large panels of laminated strand lumber -- a composite made of strands of wood glued together. Other mass timber products use layers of wood fused together at right angles that making them immensely strong and able to be used as lode bearing infrastructure, walls and floors.
Currently one of the highest modern wooden buildings is in London. Called the Stadthaus, Murray Grove, it's a nine-story residential building that stands at just under 30 meters (98 feet). Even the lift shafts and stairwells are made from wood.
According to Craig Liddell, the commercial director of KLH UK, the company that developed the cross-laminated timber for the building, the 15 stories is possible before having to use other materials like steel. The cross-laminated timber used on the Stadthaus is classified as air-tight, making it one of London's most energy efficient buildings. As a pre-fabricated structure it also took less time to construct and was cheaper than a conventional steel and concrete building.
As reported CNN, Architect Michael Green, one of three principals at McFarlane Green Biggar Architecture + Design (mgb), has plans for a 30-story wooden skyscraper in Vancouver, while plans are afoot in Norway and Austria for 17 and 20-story building that use wood as the main building material, eschewing steel and concrete.
The modern wood materials have been around for 20 years, but until recently they have been quite niche or used only in low-rise buildings. What has changed is the way in which architects and builders are thinking about using wood. The real change came when people started about climate change. Steel and concrete are great but not environmentally friendly.
Cutting down trees to make buildings doesn't immediately sound eco-friendly either, but if sourced from sustainably managed forests (like those in Europe and North America), it can be more environmentally sensitive. Wood buildings lock in carbon dioxide for the life cycle of a structure, while the manufacture of steel and concrete produces large amounts of CO2 -- the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimate that for every 10 kilos of cement created, six to nine kilos of CO2 are produced.
Green's "Tallwood" structure is designed with large panels of laminated strand lumber -- a composite made of strands of wood glued together. Other mass timber products use layers of wood fused together at right angles that making them immensely strong and able to be used as lode bearing infrastructure, walls and floors.
Currently one of the highest modern wooden buildings is in London. Called the Stadthaus, Murray Grove, it's a nine-story residential building that stands at just under 30 meters (98 feet). Even the lift shafts and stairwells are made from wood.
According to Craig Liddell, the commercial director of KLH UK, the company that developed the cross-laminated timber for the building, the 15 stories is possible before having to use other materials like steel. The cross-laminated timber used on the Stadthaus is classified as air-tight, making it one of London's most energy efficient buildings. As a pre-fabricated structure it also took less time to construct and was cheaper than a conventional steel and concrete building.
