Changes in public consciousness on climate change, fostering health and wellness in buildings, and the increasing price of concrete and steel are all factors contributing to the growth of mass timber popularity – a resource that is renewable and locally available in North America.
The International Code Council approved a set of proposals to allow tall wood buildings in the upcoming International Building Code (IBC) 2021. In response to these new tall timber provisions in the US, a feasibility study has been developed for a conceptual 12-storey mixed-use mass timber tower. A holistic review of the building has been provided, including design, cost considerations, construction impacts, and climate change impacts to provide key insights on tall wood buildings with the developer community.
In collaboration with a team of experts including DLR Group, Martha Schwartz Partners, WoodWorks, Swinerton, and Heartland LLC, the report was undertaken for a hypothetical 12-storey, mixed-use building in Seattle, Washington. The mass timber options presented were compared to cast-in-place, post-tension concrete structural framing systems to provide a comparison.
To learn more, read the Tall With Timber: A Seattle Mass Timber Tower Case Study.
