WORLDWATCH

CONSTRUCTION

Living High

Buildings made from wood are becoming increasingly common in cities around the world, as designers and architects extol the carbon-capturing nature of this and other underused materials

You’ll have heard of plant-based diets, but the push for plant-based cities may be less familiar. Nevertheless, it’s well under way. Research teams around the world are racing to create proposals for huge skyscrapers made of engineered timber while, closer to the ground, wooden buildings are already sprouting up in areas previously dominated by concrete. The proponents of using wood as a construction material point to its sustainable credentials. Concrete – the world’s most popular building material – has a huge carbon footprint, accounting for eight per cent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions, according to think tank Chatham House. Timber on the other hand can reduce carbon dioxide. According to Dr Michael Ramage, leader of the Centre for Natural Material Innovation at Cambridge University, every tonne of timber expunges 1.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

With this in mind, Ramage and his team are reaching for the skies. They recently showcased three proposals for timber skyscrapers in London, Chicago and the Hague. The London proposal, called Oakwood Timber Tower, would stand 300 metres tall and be integrated within the Barbican. Don’t expect to climb this particular tree house any time soon however – Oakwood is still in the research stages, with a cross-disciplinary team working at every level, from the microscopic cellular structure of the wood to the response of the tower to strong winds.

If Oakwood is built, it will dwarf the timber buildings currently in existence, though they too are reaching ever higher. At 85.4 metres tall and with 18 storeys, the Mjøstårnet in Norway currently holds the record for the tallest timber building. Completed in March, it took the crown from the 53-metre Brock Commons Tallwood House in Vancouver, the government of which doubled the height limit for wood-frame buildings this July.

The proposed Oakwood Timber Tower planned to be added to London’s Barbican estate

The proposed Oakwood Timber Tower planned to be added to London’s Barbican estate

6 • Geographical