Timber high-rises: a new urban element
Tall wood buildings have been at the foreground of innovative building practice in urban contexts for a number of years. From London to Stockholm, from Vancouver to Melbourne timber buildings of up to 20 storeys have been built, are under construction or being considered. This dynamic trend was enabled by developments in the material itself, prefabrication and more flexibility in fire regulations. The low CO2 footprint of wood - often regionally sourced - is another strong argument in its favour. This publication explains the typical construction types such as panel systems, frame and hybrid systems. An international selection of 17 case studies is documented in detail with many specially prepared construction drawings, demonstrating the range of the technology. For this expanded edition, a new outlook chapter has been added as well as eight cutting-edge projects, among them Haut Amsterdam, EDGE Südkreuz Berlin and Sara Cultural Centre in Sweden.
- Spectacular international case studies
- Specifically prepared construction drawings explain structural details
- Authors are experienced specialists for timber construction
Michael Green, Michael Green Architecture, Vancouver
Michael founded his architecture firm MGA | Michael Green Architecture, not for profit school DBR | Design Build Research and research platform TOE | Timber Online Education, to focus on progressive architecture, research, education and innovation. From Vancouver, British Columbia, he and his team work on international projects that are diverse in their scale, building type and location. A Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Michael is vested in helping build healthier communities through innovative architecture, interiors, landscape and urban design. He is particularly known for his research, leadership and advocacy in promoting the use of wood in the built environment with extensive
international talks on the subject, including his 2013 TED talk which has been translated into 31 different languages and viewed over 1.3 million times
Jim Taggart, Sustainable Architecture and Building Magazine
Since leaving architectural practice in 1992, Jim has written and lectured extensively on the use of wood in contemporary architecture to audiences throughout North America and across the world. He is also the author of the award-winning books Toward a Culture of Wood Architecture (2011) and The Architecture of Engagement (2019). Jim has taught architecture at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in Vancouver since 2004, and has been editor of Sustainable Architecture and Building Magazine (SABMag) since its inception in 2006. He is a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, Executive Director of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Foundation and was the recipient of the
2012 Premier of British Columbia’s ‘Wood Champion’ award.
