Tokyo to build world’s tallest timber tower

Jenni Marsh, CNN
Published 12:37 AM EST, Tue February 20, 2018
Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry is building the W350 tower in Tokyo.
Wooden skyscrapers —
Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry is building the W350 tower in Tokyo.
Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd.
At 1,148 feet, it will be the world's tallest timber tower. It will cost an estimated 600 billion yen ($5.6 billion) to build.
Wooden skyscrapers —
At 1,148 feet, it will be the world's tallest timber tower. It will cost an estimated 600 billion yen ($5.6 billion) to build.
Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd.
This floating wooden pavilion is the Pavillion of Reflections in Zurich. It was revealed as part of Manifesta, an annual contemporary art biennial.
Wooden skyscrapers —
This floating wooden pavilion is the Pavillion of Reflections in Zurich. It was revealed as part of Manifesta, an annual contemporary art biennial.
Wolfgang Traeger
The wooden structure is a collaborative project between 30 architecture students from ETH in Zurich and design firm Studio Tom Emerson.
Wooden skyscrapers —
The wooden structure is a collaborative project between 30 architecture students from ETH in Zurich and design firm Studio Tom Emerson.
Wolfgang Traeger/courtesy manifesta
Described as an "urban island," the floating structure is intended for leisurely use, and features an open-air cinema.
Wooden skyscrapers —
Described as an "urban island," the floating structure is intended for leisurely use, and features an open-air cinema.
Wolfgang Traeger/courtesy manifesta
The "Sida Vid Sida" ("side by side") building is a proposed project by Swedish architects White Arkitekter.
Wooden skyscrapers —
The "Sida Vid Sida" ("side by side") building is a proposed project by Swedish architects White Arkitekter.
courtesy White Arkitekter
The proposed design won an architecture competition in the city of Skelleftea. There were 55 entries from 10 countries.
Wooden skyscrapers —
The proposed design won an architecture competition in the city of Skelleftea. There were 55 entries from 10 countries.
courtesy White Arkitekter
The design was selected for its use of wood as a building material, as it pays tribute to Skelletea's rich local timber industry.
Wooden skyscrapers —
The design was selected for its use of wood as a building material, as it pays tribute to Skelletea's rich local timber industry.
courtesy White Arkitekter
The building is expected to be completed in 2019.
Wooden skyscrapers —
The building is expected to be completed in 2019.
courtesy White Arkitekter
Oakwood Tower is a proposed structure by PLP Architecture and Cambridge University's Department of Architecture.
Wooden skyscrapers —
Oakwood Tower is a proposed structure by PLP Architecture and Cambridge University's Department of Architecture.
courtesy plp architecture
At 80 stories high, it would be London's first wooden skyscraper, and another addition to the growing trend for structures made entirely of timber.
Wooden skyscrapers —
At 80 stories high, it would be London's first wooden skyscraper, and another addition to the growing trend for structures made entirely of timber.
courtesy plp architecture
The Forte in Melbourne was completed in 2012, and is a 10-story structure built entirely of wood.
Wooden skyscrapers —
The Forte in Melbourne was completed in 2012, and is a 10-story structure built entirely of wood.
Lendlease
For two years, the 104-foot tall structure was the tallest wooden building in the world.
Wooden skyscrapers —
For two years, the 104-foot tall structure was the tallest wooden building in the world.
Lendlease
That title was soon taken by the Treet in Norway.
Wooden skyscrapers —
That title was soon taken by the Treet in Norway.
Snølys
Treet was completed in 2014, and is 14 stories tall.
Wooden skyscrapers —
Treet was completed in 2014, and is 14 stories tall.
Morten Pedersen
The Wood Innovation and Design Center (WIDC) is located in the province of British Columbia in Canada.
Wooden skyscrapers —
The Wood Innovation and Design Center (WIDC) is located in the province of British Columbia in Canada.
Courtesy of MGA
The building is a hub for wooden design education and research.
Wooden skyscrapers —
The building is a hub for wooden design education and research.
Courtesy of MGA
In Bali, the 18-home <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/16/world/asia/bali-green-village-bamboo/">Green Village</a> is constructed almost entirely of bamboo.
Wooden skyscrapers —
In Bali, the 18-home Green Village is constructed almost entirely of bamboo.
dean irvine/cnn
"This is the future. It's pure architecture ... to breathe fresh air and touch nature, that's everything," says architect Defit Wijaya.
Wooden skyscrapers —
"This is the future. It's pure architecture ... to breathe fresh air and touch nature, that's everything," says architect Defit Wijaya.
dean irvine/cnn
CRG Architects proposed a skyscraper made entirely of bamboo at the World Architecture Festival in 2015.
Wooden skyscrapers —
CRG Architects proposed a skyscraper made entirely of bamboo at the World Architecture Festival in 2015.
CRG Architects
Bamboo was recently <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/06/architecture/waf-world-architecture-festival-2015/">recognized</a> by the United Nations as a green building material that can help combat climate change.
Wooden skyscrapers —
Bamboo was recently recognized by the United Nations as a green building material that can help combat climate change.
crg architects
Timber and bamboo -- wooden buildings are branching out

Story highlights

New super strength products such as engineered bamboo are making timber a more popular building material

Experts say wooden buildings have a positive psychological effect on people

CNN  — 

A Tokyo skyscraper is set to become the world’s tallest wooden building. Japanese company Sumitomo Forestry says its 1,148-feet-tall timber tower will be completed in 2041, to mark the 350th anniversary of the business that year. The W350 tower will cost an estimated 600 billion yen ($5.6 billion) to build.

The 70-story tower will be a hybrid structure made from 90% wooden materials. A steel vibration-control framework will underpin the design – an important feature in a city where earthquakes are frequent.

An artist's impression of inside the W350 tower in Tokyo.
An artist's impression of inside the W350 tower in Tokyo.
Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd.

Green balconies will populate the skyscraper’s exterior, connecting the building to its environment.

“The aim is to create environmentally-friendly and timber-utilizing cities where (cities) become forests through increased use of wooden architecture for high-rise buildings,” the company said in a press release.

The Japanese government is trying to encourage more developers to use wood. In 2010, it passed the Promotion of Use of Wood in Public Buildings Act, which required all government buildings up to three stories high to be constructed with wood, or to utilize wood.

Spreading like wildfire

It isn’t only Japan where wooden skyscrapers are putting down roots. Over the past decade, there has been a global explosion of timber towers, either built or proposed, every one seemingly a recorder breaker in some respect.

Canada currently holds the world record for the world’s tallest timber tower, at 164 feet tall. The 18-story Brock Commons Tallwood House, a student residence, topped out last year at the University of British Columbia (UBC), in Vancouver, and has been dubbed the world’s tallest “plyscraper.”

Before it topped out, The Treet in Central Bergen, Norway, was the world’s tallest timber. It took that title in 2014 from the 10-story, 104-feet-high Forte residential block, which overlooks Melbourne’s Victoria Harbour and was completed in 2012.

Oakwood Tower would be London's tallest wooden skyscraper.
Oakwood Tower would be London's tallest wooden skyscraper.
courtesy plp architecture

Last year, the Cube, a 109-feet-high apartment block in London’s Shoreditch, became “the tallest cross-laminated timber structure in Europe,” according to its developers.

Meanwhile, the Oakwood Tower is a proposed joint project by PLP Architecture and Cambridge University’s Department of Architecture. It’s been called an experiment in pushing the frontiers of building with wood.

The 80-story tower, if given the green light for construction, will be made of timber – making it London’s first wooden skyscraper and the tallest wooden structure in the world.

Branching out

New types of ultra-strong timber are partly driving the trend.

Cross-laminated timber, for example, sees thin layers of wood placed across one another at right angles, and laminated with fire-resistant glue to create a stronger weave.

This floating wooden pavilion is the Pavillion of Reflections in Zurich. It was revealed as part of Manifesta, an annual contemporary art biennial.
This floating wooden pavilion is the Pavillion of Reflections in Zurich. It was revealed as part of Manifesta, an annual contemporary art biennial.
Wolfgang Traeger

But it’s bamboo – a material that has been used in Asian construction for centuries – that most interests Ramage.

“We’re working on engineered bamboo,” says Ramage. “We can take the walls of bamboo tubes, cut them up into rectangles and glue them into big slabs.

Kevin Flanagan, a partner at PLP architects, adds that in the future he can imagine the industry genetically modifying wood to make it even more conducive to high-rise construction.

London’s burning?

Obviously, when it comes to wooden buildings, there’s one burning question.

Ramage says Oakwood Tower – which will be an extension of the Barbican Center in Central London – will exceed the fire standards of regular steel and concrete buildings.

“There is a huge perception problem,” says Ramage. “Timber doesn’t burn in the way the public imagines.

The "Sida Vid Sida" ("side by side") wooden building is a proposed project by Swedish architects White Arkitekter.
The "Sida Vid Sida" ("side by side") wooden building is a proposed project by Swedish architects White Arkitekter.
courtesy White Arkitekter

Wood, he says, burns predictably. Therefore, fire engineers can calculate how large a block of wood is needed to provide a protective layer to sustain a building for a certain period of time.

“All buildings over a certain size need to have sprinklers and active fire suppression systems – irrelevant of whether it’s wood, concrete or steel,” he adds.

A series of blazes at Dubai skyscrapers in recent years have highlighted that it isn’t just timber buildings at risk of catching fire.

Aren’t we meant to be saving the rainf