Architecture firm Waugh Thistleton designed Development House, an office building in London’s Shoreditch district. The nine story, 90,000-sf complex will be made of wood.
The timber will be a combination of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glued laminated timber (glulam). Dezeen explains that glulam is made of several slices of wood layered and glued together, while CLT is similar, as it has wood layers arranged at right angles. CLT and glulam are stronger than regular wood. The Building Team said that building with wood minimizes time on site and reduces noise and waste during construction.
The design calls for the building to be shaped into five quadrants, with vertical slices separating each glazed section. The voids will allow daylight and fresh air to reach the center of the building. Gardens can be placed in these spaces as well.
According to Inhabitat, Development House will be one of the tallest wood-framed structures in London. Waugh Thistleton has also designed Dalston Lane, a 10-story, 121-unit development that uses more than 3,000 cubic meters of timber, and the nine-story Murray Grove, which was the tallest modern timber residential building when it was built in 2009. Both of those London-based projects incorporated CLT.
Related Stories
Wood | Oct 19, 2020
Valle Wood is Norway’s largest commercial building made of solid timber
Lund+Slaatto designed the building.
Office Buildings | Jul 9, 2020
Sydney will be home to the world’s tallest hybrid timber tower
SHoP Architects, in collaboration with BVN, is designing the project.
Building Materials | Jul 5, 2020
A new report predicts significant demand growth for mass timber components
There should be plenty of wood, but production capacity needs to catch up.
Wood | Jun 24, 2020
One of Europe’s largest office and warehouse buildings is made entirely of wood
Exli designed and built the project.
Wood | Apr 1, 2020
HDR will design a mass timber Ramada Hotel
The hotel will be located in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Wood | Feb 3, 2020
Mass timber construction grows up
Mass timber is finally making a dent in commercial construction. But can it keep up with demand?
Wood | Jan 24, 2020
105,000-sf vertical mass timber expansion will cap D.C.’s 80 M Street
Hickok Cole is designing the project.
Urban Planning | Jan 13, 2020
Henning Larsen designs all-timber neighborhood for Copenhagen
The project hopes to set a standard for how modern communities can live in harmony with nature.
75 Top Building Products | Dec 12, 2019
Top Building Envelope Products for 2019
Sto's beetle-inspired exterior coating and Dörken Systems' UV-resistant vapor-permeable barrier are among the 28 new building envelope products to make Building Design+Construction's 2019 101 Top Products report.