Tall Wood Takes a Stand

Tall wood buildings proven safe and cost effective
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Sponsored by reThink Wood
Karen Bryan

Responsible Revolution

Tall wood buildings are not only possible, but the design and build concepts are being proven around the world. They offer tremendous environmental advantages, along with economic efficiencies that make them cost competitive with comparable steel and concrete structures.

The U.S. and Canada are looking for sustainable building solutions, says Tahan, and wood provides an ideal option for tall buildings. “Historically, the commercial building industry left wood behind, until now. Wood is a renewable product that has a lot of possibilities that we are just beginning to realize.”

Green, author of the Tall Wood report, agreed, saying he believes that climate change and the environment demand that we look at systemic new ways to build buildings. “By choosing products that are grown by the sun, that are renewable, that sequester carbon, and turning them into cost-effective structures, we as architects and engineers are on the cusp of a revolution of new buildings. This is an opportunity for us to shape a new architecture for our communities in a responsible way.”

Projects

Project: Forté
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Architect/Contractor/Developer: Lend Lease
Completed: 2012

Rising 10 stories, Forté is Australia's first CLT building and first high-rise timber apartment. At its time of completion, it was the tallest timber apartment in the world.

The developer and contractor, Lend Lease, used a conventional platform-based CLT system to build the $11-million project, which includes 23 apartments and four townhouses. Speed of construction was a huge benefit to the global company; Lend Lease estimated that they cut construction time by 30 percent. Construction began in February 2012; they began installing the CLT in May and completed the wood portion of the structure in August.

While they chose CLT in part because it met safety and quality requirements, Lend Lease cites the environmental benefits as their primary reason for building the tall building out of wood. Forté was expected to be the first 5 Star Green-Star As Built-certified residential building in Australia. And by using CLT, the structure will reduce CO2 equivalent emissions by more than 1,400 tons when compared to concrete and steel—the equivalent of removing 345 cars from Melbourne's roads.15

Mark Menhinnitt, chief executive officer for Lend Lease's Australian business, says, “CLT will transform the construction industry by introducing a more efficient and environmentally friendly construction process that has never been undertaken in Australia before. By adopting green technologies, materials and construction processes, we are closer to creating livable, sustainable cities that are climate positive.”

Lend Lease reported that costs to build Forté with CLT were comparable with that of using concrete. Going forward, they said they plan to develop 30 to 50 percent of their Australian apartment projects using CLT.

Forté in Melbourne, Australia

Photo courtesy of Lend Lease

 

Project: LifeCycle Tower ONE
Location: Dornbirn, Austria
Architect/Contractor/Developer: Cree GmbH
Completed: 2012

When Cree GmbH developed their LifeCycle Tower system, they knew the best way to sell the concept was to prove its viability. With the building envelope and floors erected in March 2012, the eight-story LifeCycle Tower ONE in Austria does just that.

The LCT system does not use CLT. While the elevator core of the building could have been made from either concrete or wood, the 17,000-square-foot LCT ONE started with a concrete podium and core, followed by a wooden post system supporting hybrid slabs.

The engineered hybrid slabs were fabricated off-site. Wood beams are laid horizontally inside the steel formwork, metal reinforcement is attached to the wood members and then the concrete is poured to produce the slab. Cree Buildings, Inc.'s Tahan says that for a current project in Austria, they are producing up to three slabs per day in their facility.

Non-load-bearing wood-framed curtain wall panels were fabricated off-site to include insulation, sheathing and windows, with taped joints for improved energy performance. These exterior walls were attached to the load bearing glulam posts. The posts had high-strength metal tubes inserted on top and metal plates with pins attached to their bottom. These prefabricated elements were shipped to the site and installed quickly, with the pin at the bottom of a post inserted into the tube in the post below. Prefabrication resulted in controlled costs and quick construction; LCT ONE's carpenters erected the eight-story building in just eight days—one story per day.

Wood's environmental and structural benefits were key considerations for LCT ONE. The wood-framed curtain walls were engineered to maximize R-value and reduce thermal bridging, allowing the building to meet PassivHaus standards. The wood post/slab configuration is also earthquake resistant and resists fire damage without losing strength because the reinforcing steel is encased inside the concrete. The building's façade was constructed of composite metal, installed on site to prevent damage, while the visible wooden supporting structure was left exposed inside.

LCT ONE showcased Cree GmbH's models of sustainability and energy efficiency, improved CO2 footprint, efficient factory-produced components and costs savings from a shorter construction schedule.

LifeCycle Tower ONE in Dornbirn, Austria

Photo courtesy of Cree Buildings, Inc.

 

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Originally published in Architectual Record
Originally published in December 2012

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