Five of the best timber high rises in the world
Timber buildings are reaching towards the skies, thanks to breakthroughs in super-strong wood.
Wood once dominated the building industry. It was used as the structural support for everything from cabins to cathedrals.
That all changed in 1885 when the 10-storey Home Insurance Building — the world’s first steel-framed office tower — officially opened in Chicago. The modern ‘skyscraper’ was born.
Over the next century, steel gradually replaced timber as the main load-bearing material for all but single or double-storey dwellings.
But wood is making a comeback.
Tall timber buildings have been going up across Europe and North America for more than a decade, and there are currently around 50 commercial or residential towers either completed or under construction in Australia, including International House in Sydney and Library at the Dock in Melbourne.
Here are the five best timber high rises in the world:
1. The Toothpick
Plans for the world’s tallest timber building – an 80-storey hybrid rising above the concrete jungle of the Barbican complex – were taken to Boris Johnson earlier this year, when he was still mayor of London. Designed by Michael Ramage of Cambridge University and London’s PLP Architecture, the tower would house 1000 new apartments.
2. International House
The 7-storey International House Sydney, located at the gateway to Sydney’s Barangaroo, is due to open next May. Made almost entirely from super-strong cross-laminated timber (CLT) and Glulam, including the lift shaft, the building will have superior thermal and acoustic properties than its concrete neighbours.
3. Hyperion
The Hyperion, named after the world’s tallest living tree, is an 18-storey timber tower, one of three residential and office blocks in Bordeaux, France, designed by architect Jean Paul Viguier, who won an architectural competition early in 2017.
4. Treet
The 14-storey Treet (“tree”) apartment complex in Bergen, Norway, is currently the world’s tallest timber building. It contains 62 apartments and all its load bearing structures are wooden.
5. Ho Ho Tower
The 24-storey, 84-metre-high Ho Ho tower is located in Vienna, Austria. It has a self-supporting timber shell secured to it, but also has concrete foundations and a core.