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There is cross-laminated timber (CLT), which looks like inch-thick strips of heartwood arranged like a Jenga set to produce a block that is pretty much the definition of the word solid. Or glu-lam, used to make structural beams that are like extremely strong plywood, and LVL—laminated veneer lumber—which makes excellent heavy beams and had formed the skeleton of the apartment building. — National Geographic
Saul Elbein dives into the growing industry of mass timber and talks with architects, both abroad and in the U.S., that are already using the new materials to design buildings of today. Elbein also chats with those imaging cities of the future, full of "standardized, customizable, mid-rise... View full entry
The London-based architecture firm, PLP Architecture, recently won the international Delftseplein competition for its hybrid tower project known as "Tree House." The $177m (£137m/€160m) project will stand at 459 feet (140 meters) and will be constructed using mass timber and concrete... View full entry
An all-timber football stadium designed for the Forest Green Rovers Football Club by Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) in 2016 has received local approval in Gloucestershire, England. The all-wood stadium is designed to blend into the project’s rural site. Rendering courtesy of MIR / Zaha... View full entry
Boston-based architecture practice Leers Weinzapfel Associates recently completed the construction of the 202,027-square-foot University of Arkansas Adohi Hall, noted to be the "first large-scale mass timber residence hall and living learning setting" as well as the "largest cross laminated timber... View full entry
Armed with €10m in EU funding, a consortium of 21 European companies and organisations has formed to try and make timber the material of choice for multi-storey buildings instead of steel and concrete.
Their aim over the next four years is to remove barriers to timber construction by developing standard, industrialised timber building systems, while documenting the environmental, economic and social benefits.
— Global Construction Review
The multinational, pan European innovation project, called Build-in-Wood, aims to "make wood the common choice of material for construction of multi-story buildings," reports Global Construction Review. "We’re not trying to create the world’s tallest wood building," project coordinator Niels... View full entry
"Having built projects in the U.S. will eventually take away the novelty and reinforce that tall wood buildings are held to the same standards for safety and performance as buildings made from other materials," Parsons told Construction Dive. "This is happening in Europe, where tall wood buildings have been built for many years." — Construction Dive
The Milwaukee Plan Commission and the Neighborhoods and Development Committee recently approved changes to New Land Enterprises' Ascent project, a wood tower that is due to be the tallest of its kind in North America, Construction Dive reports The Korb + Associates-designed tower was... View full entry
In case you haven't checked out Archinect's Pinterest boards in a while, we have compiled ten recently pinned images from outstanding projects on various Archinect Firm and People profiles. (Tip: use the handy FOLLOW feature to easily keep up-to-date with all your favorite Archinect... View full entry
Global architecture firm Gensler has unveiled designs for a charred timber prayer pavilion to be used while the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is underway. The unsolicited proposal deploys Shou Sugi Ban-style charred timber structural trusses to shape a nave "replicated to the... View full entry
The award grants funding to a faculty member — or team of faculty members — to conduct research that investigates materials or sustainability. Vassallo was selected for the award for his project “Tall Timber.” — Boston Real Estate Times
Spanish architect, writer, and assistant professor at Rice University Jesús Vassallo was selected as the recipient of the Shepley Bulfinch Award. Founded in 1952, Shepley Bulfinch is an international architecture firm that focuses on sustainable design practices. Vassallo has committed much of... View full entry
Architect Francis Kéré has completed work on Xylem, a new pavilion at the Tippet Rise Art Center in Montana that is fashioned from a collection of tree trunks. The 2,100-square-foot pavilion, described as "a quiet place to contemplate nature" by the organizers, draws inspiration... View full entry
INT: Do you think sustainability in architecture is less of an issue in Japan?
KK: Historically, traditional Japanese architecture uses very sustainable designs that incorporate features such as natural ventilation instead of air conditioning, and things like that. But in the 20th century, as Western culture came to Japan, we forgot these kinds of designs. That’s what I’m trying to go back to.
— It's Nice That
"My dream is to start my own school and pass my lessons on to younger generations in the same way that Frank Lloyd Wright did with his School of Architecture at Taliesin [in Wisconsin]," Kengo Kuma told It's Nice That when asked about his future aspirations. "He has inspired me in many ways, but I... View full entry
A downtown Milwaukee high-rise has found support from an unlikely source: the United States Department of Agriculture.
The department’s Forestry Service division announced this week that it had awarded 41 grants totaling $8.9 million to businesses, universities, non-profits and tribal partners in 20 states to “create jobs, support fire-safe communities, restore healthy forest conditions, and spur environmentally sound innovation.”
— Urban Milwaukee
Part of the grant will be allocated to Ascent, a potentially record-breaking mass timber tower in Milwaukee proposed by New Land Enterprises (previously on Archinect). Image: Korb + Associates Architects."The funds will be used to support engineering work on the proposed 21-story, 201-unit... View full entry
If this mass timber tower is built as originally envisioned, the tallest of its kind in the world, it could set an extraordinary precedent and benchmark for not only green building construction but also the future of development along Vancouver’s Central Broadway corridor. — Urbanized Vancouver
Daily Hive editor Kenneth Chan gives a detailed introduction of the Perkins+Will-designed Canada Earth Tower, a proposed timber tower that could rise up to 40 stories and accommodate around 200 residential units. "The structure would be predominantly made out of fire-resistant wood... View full entry
Danish firm 3XN revealed their design for T3 Bayside, which will be the first office structure to emerge in Toronto's Bayside neighborhood. Once built, at 42 meters high, the 10-story structure would reportedly be the tallest timber office building in North America. Currently in design... View full entry
[CTBUH] has verified the completion of Mjøstårnet, a mixed-use building in Brumunddal, Norway that now holds the unique title of the “World’s Tallest Timber Building.” At 85.4 meters, it is also the third-tallest building in Norway and the country’s tallest with mixed functions.
This news coincides with the amendment of the CTBUH Height Criteria – the official guidelines upon which tall buildings are measured – to include timber as a recognized structural material.
— Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat
The 18-story wooden structure Mjøstårnet (Mjøsa Tower) near Oslo, Norway popularly earned the title "World’s Tallest Timber Building" back in September 2018 when it structurally topped out. But it wasn't until a recent update of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's height... View full entry
