Earlier this week, the Oregon Building Codes Division announced a statement of alternate method (SAM) that makes Oregon the first state to allow for construction of wooden high-rises without special consideration. Previously, Portland, Ore., was the first American city to issue a permit for an all-wood high-rise, Project’s 12-story-tall Framework. — engineering.com
The statement of alternate method (SAM) was developed over two years by a committee created from the International Code Council’s Board of Directors. The committee proposed 14 suggestions concerning cross-laminated timber standards and best-practices, which were all accepted by the Oregon Codes Division.
Cross-laminated timber is a new building material made by layering pieces of lumber in alternating directions and bonding them into panels. The material is strong enough to replace structural steel and concrete, and thick enough to resist burning.
2 Comments
Not to quibble but 12 stories is typically a mid-rise. I believe Portland actually defines this in code.
Perhaps from a zoning code perspective, but this is all about the building code, and that would depend on your floor-to-floor height for your 12 stories. Oregon's building code defines "high-rise building" the same way the IBC does: "A building with an occupied floor located more than 75 feet above the lowest level of fire department vehicle access."
So if you want your 12-story building to have a 6'-3" floor-to-floor height, you could get away with considering it a mid-rise building. But once you get above that 75' mark, it's a high-rise building according to the building code. Note there is no definition in the OSSC or IBC for "mid-rise building."
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