Wooden Architecture Archives - Page 5 of 9

World’s Tallest Timber Tower Currently Under Construction in Vancouver

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

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It looks as if Vancouver, B.C. could become home to the world’s tallest timber tower by summer 2017, assuming it ’s completed before several other planned projects in Europe. Designed by Acton Ostry Architects, the Brock Commons Student Residence at the University of British Columbia is set to be 53 meters (173.8 feet) tall, with housing for 404 students. This particular plan calls for a hybrid of mass wood and concrete; the two freestanding concrete cores are already built and the wood structure is currently going up around it.

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17 stories of timber will be topped with a prefabricated steel beam and metal deck roof, with all vertical loads carried by the timber and lateral stability provided by the cores. Steel connectors transfer loads between the glulam columns and a grid of cross-laminated timber panels to meet the Canadian building code standards for earthquake-resistant design. Most of the materials in use are prefabricated, enabling the structure to go up at a rate of about one floor per week.

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Designed to meet LEED Gold certification, the sustainable structure aims to stand as a case study for the viability of tall wood structures, ultimately leading to changes in British Columbia’s building codes so even taller wooden skyscrapers can be built. The amount of wood used in the structure will trap an incredible 2,563 tons of carbon, the equivalent of taking 490 cars off the road for a year. That represents a whole lot of potential for environmentally friendly, affordable and easy-to-build wooden superstructures in our future.

Weirdest Wooden Skyscraper? Design for London Features Numerical Facade

Posted on April 29, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

The wooden skyscraper trend is really taking off in 2016, with dozens of projects in various stages of planning, and many more concepts and proposals released by designers on a near-weekly basis. But none have been quite as creative and decorative as this one from Anders Berenson Architects, envisioned for Stockholm, Sweden. The Trätoppen Tower will be built almost entirely from cross-laminated timber (CLT) and features a numerical facade identifying each of its 40 stories in bold fashion for an effect that’s as ornate as any decorative screen.

Set to be the tallest building in the city center, the tower is named after the Swedish word for ‘treetop,’ and will perch atop an existing parking garage by architect Hans Asplund. Two levels of the extension will be open to the public as terraces, and the rest will serve as private residences. The seven-story car park will be renovated to contain shopping areas, restaurants and cafes.

While it’s beautiful, the wooden screen doesn’t just serve a decorative purpose. It’s designed to reduce solar gain, helping to keep the interior cool and comfortable.

“If we want to reduce the amount of cars in the city center of Stockholm and at the same time make space for more housing without building on green areas, then replacing car parks with housing, shops and restaurants feels obvious,” say the architects.

Sky-High Timber Frame Mine Lets Recycled Beetle-Kill Pine Shine

Posted on March 1, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

A five-story pavilion made from reclaimed beetle-kill pine inverts the structure of a mine, putting its internal architecture on display for the 2015 Biennial of the Americas in Denver. ‘Mine Pavilion’ by Chilean practice Pezo von Ellrichshausen consists of stacked square modules in a tall and narrow configuration, looking a bit like a giant billboard when viewed from afar but feeling like an open-air chapel inside.

The architects utilized the common practice of securing the foundation modules with locally-sourced rocks. While the structure looks impenetrable from the outside, it’s actually a tunnel that guests can walk through, enabling them to gaze up at an almost fractal pattern of wooden beams that just seem to go on and on.

Lacking any enclosing walls, the timber frame can be appreciated for all of its elegant simplicity. Plank after beautiful plank of pine stretches up toward the sky, the repeating arches leading the eye to patches of blue.

World’s Tallest Wooden Building Set for Construction in Norway

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

Stretching a full 173 feet into the sky, a 14-story tower made primarily of wood is set to be built in Norway, making it the world’s tallest. With so many wooden superstructures on the docket, the title is constantly up for grabs, and this sustainable housing project in Bergen may not hold onto it for long. But it’s a testament to just how popular wooden towers are getting as governments around the world relax their building restrictions, paving the way for a whole new world of wooden architecture.

Ole Kleppe and Rune Abrahamsen didn’t intend to create the world’s tallest building when planning their cost-efficient, modular high-rise, which is primarily prefabricated. But after their project was approved, a competing bridge close by meant additional height was needed. Norway previously only allowed buildings nine stories tall, so the team had to simultaneously push for new laws and innovate a safe, strong structure.

It’s fitting that this kind of record-setting innovation using wood should occur in Norway, where wooden buildings up to 800 years old are still standing. The architects took their inspiration from Norwegian timber bridges, basically flipping the truss structure vertically.

“We have a lot of experience building large timber bridges in Norway,” says Pbrahamsen. “We were confident that with this tech we could build tall.”

The project, called Treet, is currently under construction. It could be surpassed before long as the University of British Columbia is planning an 18-story student housing project made of wood, scheduled to be completed in 2017. Read more about the tech and building processes involved at the Journal of Commerce.

Wood-Frame Emergency Shelters Made From Earthquake Rubble

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Jeff Easterling

What’s the fastest way to erect quick, comfortable and durable emergency shelters while simultaneously clearing away rubble after an earthquake? Renowned Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, known for brilliant relief projects and ingenious use of paper products in architecture, has a solution so smart, it’s a wonder nobody thought of it already. This design is a modular shelter consisting of a wooden framework filled with brick rubble salvaged after a disaster.

Conceived after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that devastated Nepal in April, these temporary relief shelters are low-cost and easy to assemble. Roof trusses are made from local paper tubes and sealed with plastic sheeting. Rubble is simply stacked within the wooden frames, which can be made with local materials and put together quickly.

This particular project visually references Nepalese architecture, but the concept could be adapted for virtually any place in the world where lumber is readily available. The first small shelter based on this design is expected to be complete in Nepal by the end of August in collaboration with Ban’s humanitarian organization, Volunteer Architects Network (VAN).

This Week in Wood: World’s Tallest Wood Building Proposed for Paris

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Jeff Easterling

Is this sky-high structure the wooden equivalent to the Eiffel Tower? Proposed for Paris, the 35-story tower at the center of the Baobab complex will be the world’s tallest building made of wood if it ends up being built. In collaboration with French architectural partners DVVD and real estate group REI France, Canadian architecture firm MGA submitted the concept for a design competition called Reinventer Paris looking to revitalize architecture in one of the world’s poshest cities.

Known for his pioneering work in tall wooden structures, lead architect Michael Green envisions the sustainable structure as an environmentally friendly and creative way to approach the city’s housing challenges. The Baobab complex includes residences, a student hotel, a bus station, an e-car hub and park-like green spaces.

“We love the idea that a wood tower in Paris, however modest in some respects… will help champion a new global wave of building with more sustainable, renewable and beautiful materials,” Green told CNN.

The architects estimate that the wooden high-rise could sequester 3,700 metric tons of carbon emissions, equivalent to taking 2,207 cars off the roads for a year. MGA previously published a study called The Case for Tall Wood Buildings as a guide for other designers to look at the renewable material in a new way. Watch a video of Michael Green discussing the cultural perceptions of building with wood.