A 12-storey building constructed of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam was approved for construction in Portland, Oregon. The building will be the first all timber tall building in the US. It will include retail space, offices and apartments.
The CLT panels will be supplied by Portland manufacturer D.R. Johnson who was the first company in the US to receive certification according to the APA/ANSI standard for CLT.
The proposed building design was also tested by two universities for seismic, fire and acoustic performance. Building code work is underway in Washington State and Oregon to allow for tall wood buildings, which will simplify the design and permitting process.
Twenty-seven tall wood buildings have been completed to date in Europe and Canada, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
A hybrid timber and concrete building in Vancouver is currently the highest building, but a 24-storey hybrid timber and concrete tower is under construction in Vienna, Austria.
The tallest proposed buildings are a 26-storey hybrid timber and steel tower in Lagos, Nigeria and a 35-storey tower also in timber and steel in Paris, France.
The proposed Abebe Court Tower in Lagos would be the first tall all timber building in Africa and the first to include open-air planted sky-gardens.
