From seeds to skyscrapers, these wooden towers are eating CO2

[Judi Lynn]

Using wood to build our tower blocks could cut global emissions by 31 per cent
By ALEXANDRA SIMON-LEWIS
Sunday 22 October 2017

Timber towers are branching out around the world. Designed to trap thousands of tonnes of carbon within their walls, wooden skyscrapers are more than just architectural statements - they're monoliths of modern environmentalism.

"I can hold the number of tree seeds it took to build Murray Grove in my palm," says Andrew Waugh, of Waugh Thistleton Architects. His flagship timber build in Hackney, London, completed in 2008, is nine storeys high and constructed entirely from cross-laminated timber (CLT). This wood is a natural storage source for CO2 and was harvested from a sustainable forest. Once shaped into timber panels, it was assembled on site with cordless screwdrivers, with no need for hammers or toxic chemicals - slotting into place like a giant honeycomb.


The timber boom started from tiny seeds, but it's now starting to take root. A report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat found that 21 such structures with a height of more than 50 metres will be completed by 2019. "People want to be connected to nature, even when they're indoors," says Philip Vivian, director of design firm Bates Smart. "It's funny, because before we built using concrete and steel, we used wood." His project, the nine-storey 25 King building in Brisbane, Australia, is set for completion in 2018. "Research predicts that if we used mass timber in place of concrete and steel, we could cut global emissions by up to 31 per cent."

In Bergen, Norway, TREET ("tree" in Norwegian) was assembled in 2015, "almost like building with LEGO", says the company's chief project manager Ole Herbrand Kleppe. Its 62 apartments were designed as prefabricated modules.

More:
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/wooden-tower-blocks-carbon-environment