What if we used wood as a construction material for high buildings ? Given how many trees we are planting to fight climate change, we are not going to lack from it any time soon if we manage it sustainably.
Back to June the New York Times published an interesting article on how this is done in London where a company built a nine-story building using mostly cross-laminated timber, or CLT.
And this is only the beginning as soon construction made from wood could sprout all around the world. CLT is indeed much more fire-resistant than common wooden material.
here are some details taken from the article :
Developed in Europe in the 1990s, cross-laminated timber, or CLT, is among the latest in a long line of “engineered” wood products that are strong and rigid enough to replace steel and concrete as structural elements in bigger buildings.
Already popular in Europe, CLT is only beginning to catch on in North America, where proponents say buildings made with the panels could be a cheaper and environmentally friendly alternative to structures made with those other materials.
Given how concrete emits carbon dioxide and how wood just suck it up from the air, I guess this construction material has a bright future in the sustainable cities of the future.
Yes, it is really surprising to know that building structures from wood is highly beneficial for the environment provided that we plant the trees at higher rate than cutting them down. The nature of wood to absorb the carbon from atmosphere which would otherwise add to the greenhouse effect is quite amazing.
In fact the conference, held on 28th January 2009 at Napier University in Edinburgh, highlighted the potential for timber products to contribute positively to carbon management in construction.