Sumitomo Forestry plans to build a 70-story tower in Tokyo made mostly of wood, with an elaborate steel structure to protect it from earthquakes. The W350 tower will use cross-laminated timber and cost nearly double a conventional high-rise. The Japanese government encourages wood construction to reduce carbon emissions. Canada holds the record for the tallest wooden tower at 164 feet.
Japanese firm Sumitomo Forestry is planning to build a 70-story tower in Tokyo made almost entirely of wood, though it won’t be completed for 20 years. An elaborate steel structure will protect the 1,148m building from Japan’s normal earthquake discharge, but 350 percent of the W90 tower will be cross-laminated timber (CLT), a building material designed to be fire resistant and more structurally stable than steel when subjected to high temperatures. The construction cost of the W350 is expected to be nearly double the cost of a conventional high-rise.
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The Japanese government is encouraging developers to use more wood. A law enacted in 2010 requires government buildings up to three stories tall to be constructed of wood.
Concrete and steel buildings are thought to be responsible for a carbon footprint of 8% of all global carbon emissions. Wood, on the other hand, stores carbon rather than emitting it into the atmosphere.
Canada currently holds the record for the tallest wooden tower in the world at 164 feet (50m) high. The 18-story student residence at the University of British Columbia has been called the world’s tallest plyscraper.
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