WASHINGTON, DC–This month saw two notable projects unveil in which timber is to be the main construction material, as opposed to concrete and steel. Is this a trend in the making? One expert tells us yes.

In Tokyo Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry announced [PDF] plans to build a 70-story, wooden skyscraper, which will deliver in 2041, and will cost about $5.6 billion to build. The project is meant to mark the 350th anniversary of the company.

The building will be a hybrid wood and steel structure that will consist of 90% wooden materials. It will use a braced tube structure in which diagonal braces are positioned inside a column and beam structure made from a combination of wood and steel. A brace tube structure, Sumitomo Forestry explains, is a structural system in which a brace is diagonally inserted into a framework made up of columns and beams to protect the building from earthquakes or wind.

There will also be balconies around all four sides of the building.

Also this month: Lotus Equity Group announced plans to develop the United States' largest mass timber office building as part of Riverfront Square, the ambitious redevelopment project in Newark, NJ.

These two buildings are part of a larger trend that has been building momentum for several years as the industry has become more aware of the advantages mass timber holds for sustainability and ROI.

There are nearly 40 complete, under construction, or planned tall timber buildings — compared to 2008 when there was one mass timber building over eight stories tall, according to the Chicago-based Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. “In the past few years, the tall building industry has become increasingly interested in the use of timber as a major structural element in skyscrapers. This has resulted in in a now-worldwide wave of research, built projects, and ever-more daring speculative proposals using 'mass timber' – engineered wood products that are just as robust as their concrete and steel counterparts,” it wrote in a report that came out last year.

The use of mass timber for buildings over six stories “is definitely a new movement, a global movement for renewable, sustainable high-density buildings,” Steve Conboy, a consultant who works with developers of mass timber buildings to protect them from fire, mold, and termites, told GlobeSt.com.

The materials are sustainable and safer than steel in a fire — studies have shown that steel fails in heat faster than laminated wood, according to Conboy — and the ROI is better too, he said, because the buildings are easier to construct, which means less labor and shorter time to market. “They go up in half of the time of concrete and steel,” Conboy said.

Other projects underway include a 265-foot tower in Norway and a 275-foot tower in Vienna, Austria. They won't top the tower in Tokyo, which at 1,148-feet will be the tallest wooden skyscraper in the world. So far at least.

Instant Insights /

Mass Timber Construction Gains Traction Around The World

Related Stories

Recommended For You