Wood-Based Office Towers Growing Popular
The need for energy efficiency and sustainability has also brought the idea of wood buildings back.
CHICAGO—Generations of office workers got accustomed to toiling away in steel and concrete towers. But several innovative designers and architects have unveiled a new concept that uses 19th century technology to create modern office spaces: mass timber construction.
New timber projects such as Minneapolis’ T3 building have already debuted and experienced resounding success with tenants and investors. Amazon agreed to occupy about half the seven-story structure, billed as the largest wood building of this century, shortly after it opened in 2016. That lease helped motivate LaSalle Investment Management to purchase the building earlier this year.
And Chicago may get its own T3.
Hines, the Houston-based developer of 444 W. Lake St., one of Chicago newest trophy office towers, recently formed a partnership with Diversified Real Estate Capital, LLC and Big Bay Realty, LLC, to develop a similar T3 building on Goose Island, one of the city’s newest and fastest growing submarkets. The former industrial area has a host of older warehouses, many converted to office use, and should attract creative tenants that find timber-based architecture appealing.
“From a developer’s standpoint, wood buildings are cost effective, and aesthetically they are very warm,” says Archie Landreman, regional director of WoodWorks, a program administered by the Wood Products Council. “It feels good to be in a wood building.”
The need for energy efficiency and sustainability has also brought back the material’s use. “Wood itself is an insulator,” adds Landreman, who provided technical support for Minneapolis’ T3, “while streel and concrete are conductors. Wood is the only renewable structural material we have.” Its sustainability means today’s office workers, especially the millennials so sought after by corporate America, will want to sign on with companies that choose a timber-based building.
The momentum for such construction is growing. Other wood-based buildings in the US include the Design Building at University of Massachusetts-Amherst, a four-story Candlewood Suites hotel near Huntsville, AL, and many across the Pacific Northwest.
Perhaps the most significant sign of wood’s acceptance in Chicago is that McDonald’s used the material to build its 19,000-square-foot flagship restaurant in River North. Designed by noted local architect Carol Ross Barney, the structure’s canopy stretches over much of the block, and is seen by thousands of passing motorists each day.
“McDonald’s is like any other company,” said Landreman. “They want to be on the cutting edge, and this makes for a stunning building. This will make wood buildings a truly mainstream idea.”