By Sunny Chiu
New types of ultra-strong timber and materials made out of word are driving the trend for wooden buildings. The current tallest timber building is a 164 feet (18-story) student residence at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. However, the Japanese wood product company, Sumitomo Forestry is set to build the world’s tallest wooden building called the W350.
The skyscraper is planned to be 1,148 feet tall (70-stories) and made from 90% wooden materials. It is scheduled to be completed in 2041. The building plans to improve biodiversity in an urban environment, as well as the mental health of employees by having foliage connecting the bottom to the top floor and surrounding open balconies.
One of the main goals of this project is to celebrate the company’s 350th anniversary in 2041. Another goal is to “create environmentally-friendly and timber-utilizing cities where [cities] become forests through increased use of wooden architecture for high-rise buildings,” said the company during a press release. Though there is a potential problem with depletion of forests for this project (as forests cover approximately two-thirds of Japan), Sumitomo Forestry responded that many of the cedar and cypress trees planted after World War 2 are left unmaintained. This project will increase timber demand and is said to promote better forest maintenance. The company will also replant trees after the harvest to encourage sustainability.
