There is a growing movement to use the ancient building material instead of concrete or steel for large and tall structures

Master house at Stone Creek Camp in Montana, US

Skyscrapers made of wood, one of our oldest building materials, are no longer a fantasy thanks to the recent development of highly engineered wood products, collectively known as “massive timber”. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) – layers of softwood, the grain crosswise in each successive layer, glued and pressed together until the panels are up to 50cm thick – has enabled the construction of multistorey residential all-timber buildings.

Take the Stadthaus building in Murray Grove, Hackney, northeast London. The nine-storey structure was designed by architects Waugh Thistleton, who called it “the world’s tallest modern timber residential building” when it was completed in 2009. Constructed from cross-laminated timber panels from the first floor upwards, Stadthaus was the first residential building of this height to have floor slabs and load bearing walls made entirely from timber. Nearby in Hackney, adjacent to the Whitmore Bridge, over Regent’s Canal, is another cross-laminated timber structure designed by Waugh Thistleton. Completed in 2012, this mixed-use, seven-storey building was constructed in just five weeks by a team of four men.....Continue Reading

> via ft.com