Tall Timber: Mass Timber for High-Rise Buildings

As a natural building material, mass timber provides extraordinary benefits. Through the growth of trees, its production sequesters rather than emits carbon dioxide, and thus helps counteract climate change. Fused into mass timber panels, beams, and columns, its relative light weight and great strength make it a competitive choice for building tall, reducing on-site assembly time, construction personnel, and associated costs, while offering the precision that comes with prefabrication. The aesthetic appeal of exposed timber drives psychological and physiological well-being, which can also translate into lease and sale premiums. There are challenges of course, with many national and local fire codes heavily restricting the use of timber in the structure and façades of high-rise buildings. But as more use cases and test results become available, attitudes and codes are adapting.

This publication, the outcome of a grant from the USDA Forest Service and Binational Softwood Lumber Council, is a key step forward in increasing understanding of this exciting material. Through twelve detailed, richly illustrated case studies—as well as key topical considerations contributed by the leading experts in timber construction—Tall Timber is the definitive guide for all practitioners involved in the development, design, and operation of tall buildings. The reader will gain a greater understanding of this ancient, newly-reborn material, with its vast potential to build greener, more sustainable cities. It is a companion to the Tall Timber Center, a comprehensive online resource at talltimbercenter.com.

Principal Authors: Antony Wood, Daniel Safarik, Will Miranda & Jake Elbrecht
Coordinating Editor: Daniel Safarik
Editing and Proofing: Martina Dolejsova
Layout: Tansri Muliani & Alexander Tsanov

ISBN 978-0-939493-81-4
Soft cover, 328 pages, 8.5"W x 11"H