The wood-industry advocacy group reThink Wood has released "Summary Report: Survey of International Tall Wood Buildings." Conducted by Perkins + Will for Forestry Innovation Investment and the Binational Softwood Lumber Council, the free report summarizes stakeholder experiences with 10 built projects in Europe, Australia, and Canada, including commercial, residential, mixed-use, and institutional facilities of five to 10 stories.
In particular, the report stresses characteristics of owners and Building Teams that are necessary for success in building tall with wood, including a high level of initial commitment, planning, collaboration, and holistic innovation.
Stakeholders are usually motivated by a desire for innovation, market leadership, and carbon reduction, with dual objectives of energy efficiency and healthy indoor environments. The existence of supportive government policies was an important factor in the acceptance of mass timber solutions for many of the profiled projects.
The report also acknowledges the need for additional refinements to allow timber to become a common solution for tall buildings. Issues and strategies for technical challenges are discussed, including the topics of structure, lateral stability, fire protection, acoustics + vibration, systems integration, moisture protection, and durability.
Click here for a complete report download.
Related Stories
| Nov 22, 2011
New Green Matters Conference examines emerging issues in concrete and sustainability
High-interest topics will be covered in technical seminars, including infrared reflective coatings for heat island mitigation, innovative uses of concrete to provide cooling and stormwater management, environmental benefits of polished concrete, and advancements in functional resilience of architectural concrete.
| Nov 22, 2011
Suffolk Construction selected as contractor for Boston luxury residential tower
Project team breaks ground on 488,000-sf building that will feature world-class amenities.
| Nov 22, 2011
Jones Lang LaSalle completes construction of two new stores in Manhattan
Firm creates new global design standard serving as project manager for Uniglo’s 89,000-sf flagship location and, 64,000-sf store.
| Nov 21, 2011
Mortenson and enXco partnership to build its 19th wind project
The 8,500 acres project will generate140 megawatts of wind power – enough energy to power approximately 39,000 homes.
| Nov 21, 2011
FDH Engineering acquires Energy Solutions
All ESI employees have been merged into FDH’s staff at its St. Louis office.
| Nov 18, 2011
Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability opens
Designed to exceed LEED Platinum, the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) is one of the most innovative and high performance buildings in North America today, demonstrating leading-edge green building design products, technologies, and systems.
| Nov 17, 2011
SmithGroup changes name to SmithGroupJJR
SmithGroup and JJR join brands to become a single, multi-disciplinary company.
| Nov 17, 2011
Campus-wide energy-efficiency program aims to deliver $3.5 million in energy and operational savings
Merced College and Honeywell will use the school’s energy usage statistics to develop a course curriculum on sustainability, and raise awareness among students of the positive impact conservation practices contribute to the community.
