Can Wood Become an Alternative Material for Tall Building Construction?

Abstract

With a growing interest in using timber as a structural material for tall buildings in response to trends in sustainable design, several timber buildings between 7 and 10 stories have been built in Europe and Australia. However, in the United States, timber buildings are still limited to 6 or fewer stories. The availability of glued laminated timber enables the fabrication of structural members with cross-section sizes and shapes capable of supporting heavy loads. Although this may be appealing for use in tall buildings, from a structural engineering point of view, there are also other timber properties that may be attractive to architectural designers as well. Among these properties, timber has favorable performance in fire (at least for solid sections). These properties may offer some advantages for wood to become a candidate for tall building construction as an alternative material. This paper presents an overview of available literature on the use of timber as a potential material for use in tall buildings. Specific properties of wood in offering a renewable material with a favorable strength-to-density ratio and fire-resistance rating are discussed. Recent and ongoing fire tests and the significance of adhesive effects in laminated timber members are reviewed. Fire safety and structural design challenges in making wood an alternative material in tall building construction are also presented.