THESIS HOW WOOD COMPARES BUILDING WITH WOOD ...
Undergraduate Category: Humanities + Arts Degree: Architecture | 2014 Abstract ID#: 473
Small Spans Fire Hazard Wood Harvesting is Harmful Height Limit of 5 stories
REALITY Structural Spans up to 28 feet 2-3 Hours of Fire Resistance Sustainably Managed Forestry 10 story buildings are already constructed. Wood is structurally capable of 30-50 stories
H O W W O O D C O M PA R E S
H E I G HT’S G L O B A L I M PA CT
CARBON SEQUESTRATION
1 m3 of wood
WORLDWIDE POPULATION AND BUILDING INDUSTRY TRENDS
FIRE PERFORMANCE
Mass Timber walls and floors can be designed for 2-3 hours of fire resistance.
(Gj)
Global Warming Potential
(Eq.CO2kg)
Air Pollution
Wood’s substantially lower environmental impact gives it the potential to become a lead building material. But it must be able to build tall for the increased density the swelling urban population needs.
(Critical Volume Measure)
Urban populations are rapidly rising. The building industry must reduce its environmental impact while increasing its production to meet global housing demands. Mass timber panels can create the density we need with environmental responsibility.
Mass Timber assemblies are 50% lighter than concrete or steel
WEIGHT SHELL COST
EMBODIED + OPERATING EFFECTS OVER 20 YEARS Primary Energy
1-1.6 tons of carbon
3 stories $10
$20
Roundwood Production
$30
In a sustainable forest, as trees are felled for materials they are replaced with seedlings that eventually grow into mature trees. At 751 million acres, forest area in the United States remains stable.
CO2 Emissions
HEIGHT POTENTIAL
Weighted Resource Use
Wood
Saplings
5 Years
25 Years
30-35 Years
Building Life
Deconstruction
Steel Concrete
Greenhouse
Transplanted to Forest
Full grown + Monitored
Felled for Materials
Used in Building Industry
Materials Recycled
PROPOSED
H8 - Germany
8
Via Cenni - Italy
9
Stadhaus - London
9
Forté - Australia
10
Barents Secretariat - Norway
20
Tall Wood - Vancouver
30
Timber Tower - Chicago
42
STRUCTURAL METHODS
Laminated Strand Lumber
1 - Exterior Structural Panels
PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS
Tilt-up multi-story panels FLOORS
With post + beam
3 - Interior Structural Panels With glu-lam curtain wall
PANELS AS THIN COLUMNS
EXTERIOR LOAD BEARING PANELS Construction Sequence
GLU-LAM CURTAIN WALL
Low lift exterior walls Install steel beams connecting core to walls
Low lift and brace remaining exterior walls
Install floors Repeat process for upper levels
W O O D E N C ITI E S: Elizabeth Dame Tuesday, March 4, 2014
R E A L I Z I N G TH E H E I G HT P OTE NTI A L O F W O O D
53’ x 8.5’
2 - Panels as Thin Columns
New Saplings Planted
Install Core
Laminated Veneer Lumber Strands are oriented parallel to the axis of the member and pressed into solid mats.
BUILT
(kg)
The grain of each layer of veneer runs in the same direction to achieve uniformity and predictability.
Steel Production
(Critical Volume Measure)
Solid Waste
Cross Laminated Timber
Cement Production
Non-wood Mass Timber Panels Light wood Framing
8 stories
Water Pollution
(kg)
Several layers of boards stacked crosswise and glued together on their wide faces.
Urban Population
5 stories
SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
MASS TIMBER PANELS
Population
billions of persons
This project explores the present and potential role of wood in the building industry. Through the implementation of sustainable forestry, wood offers a renewable solution that can revolutionize how we build and make a substantial push towards curbing our current path of environmental harm. This proposal applies research on mass timber panels to demonstrate how preconceived notions of wood’s height limitations can be challenged. The implication of this wood system is a solution to the paradox of increased construction and decreased environmental impact. Should the global community embrace these new production and assembly methods, wood can once again become a dominant presence in building design - even join the material palette of skyscrapers.
PERCEPTION
B E N E F ITS O F W O O D
million tons
Fifty percent of today’s world population lives in urban environments. That number is estimated to rise to seventy percent by 2050, with three billion people needing a new affordable home. As density becomes a critical problem, the building industry must adapt to meet these demands. Steel and concrete currently dominate large-scale, urban building design, even though these structures embody more energy, emit more greenhouse gasses, release more air and water pollutants, and produce more solid waste than wood design. The building industry is already responsible for one third of the world’s green house gas emissions, an unsustainable percentage. As we are faced with the task to construct new cities to hold our rapidly swelling numbers, we must be conscious of how our methods and materials have significant ecological impacts.
B U I L D I N G W ITH W O O D
million m3
TH E S I S
Hollow or ribbed panels = less timber
Standardization to match transportation dimensions
Educate architects, engineers, developers
Small Spans Fire Hazard Wood Harvesting is Harmful Height Limit of 5 stories
REALITY Structural Spans up to 28 feet 2-3 Hours of Fire Resistance Sustainably Managed Forestry 10 story buildings are already constructed. Wood is structurally capable of 30-50 stories
H O W W O O D C O M PA R E S
H E I G HT’S G L O B A L I M PA CT
CARBON SEQUESTRATION
1 m3 of wood
WORLDWIDE POPULATION AND BUILDING INDUSTRY TRENDS
FIRE PERFORMANCE
Mass Timber walls and floors can be designed for 2-3 hours of fire resistance.
(Gj)
Global Warming Potential
(Eq.CO2kg)
Air Pollution
Wood’s substantially lower environmental impact gives it the potential to become a lead building material. But it must be able to build tall for the increased density the swelling urban population needs.
(Critical Volume Measure)
Urban populations are rapidly rising. The building industry must reduce its environmental impact while increasing its production to meet global housing demands. Mass timber panels can create the density we need with environmental responsibility.
Mass Timber assemblies are 50% lighter than concrete or steel
WEIGHT SHELL COST
EMBODIED + OPERATING EFFECTS OVER 20 YEARS Primary Energy
1-1.6 tons of carbon
3 stories $10
$20
Roundwood Production
$30
In a sustainable forest, as trees are felled for materials they are replaced with seedlings that eventually grow into mature trees. At 751 million acres, forest area in the United States remains stable.
CO2 Emissions
HEIGHT POTENTIAL
Weighted Resource Use
Wood
Saplings
5 Years
25 Years
30-35 Years
Building Life
Deconstruction
Steel Concrete
Greenhouse
Transplanted to Forest
Full grown + Monitored
Felled for Materials
Used in Building Industry
Materials Recycled
PROPOSED
H8 - Germany
8
Via Cenni - Italy
9
Stadhaus - London
9
Forté - Australia
10
Barents Secretariat - Norway
20
Tall Wood - Vancouver
30
Timber Tower - Chicago
42
STRUCTURAL METHODS
Laminated Strand Lumber
1 - Exterior Structural Panels
PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS
Tilt-up multi-story panels FLOORS
With post + beam
3 - Interior Structural Panels With glu-lam curtain wall
PANELS AS THIN COLUMNS
EXTERIOR LOAD BEARING PANELS Construction Sequence
GLU-LAM CURTAIN WALL
Low lift exterior walls Install steel beams connecting core to walls
Low lift and brace remaining exterior walls
Install floors Repeat process for upper levels
W O O D E N C ITI E S: Elizabeth Dame Tuesday, March 4, 2014
R E A L I Z I N G TH E H E I G HT P OTE NTI A L O F W O O D
53’ x 8.5’
2 - Panels as Thin Columns
New Saplings Planted
Install Core
Laminated Veneer Lumber Strands are oriented parallel to the axis of the member and pressed into solid mats.
BUILT
(kg)
The grain of each layer of veneer runs in the same direction to achieve uniformity and predictability.
Steel Production
(Critical Volume Measure)
Solid Waste
Cross Laminated Timber
Cement Production
Non-wood Mass Timber Panels Light wood Framing
8 stories
Water Pollution
(kg)
Several layers of boards stacked crosswise and glued together on their wide faces.
Urban Population
5 stories
SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY
MASS TIMBER PANELS
Population
billions of persons
This project explores the present and potential role of wood in the building industry. Through the implementation of sustainable forestry, wood offers a renewable solution that can revolutionize how we build and make a substantial push towards curbing our current path of environmental harm. This proposal applies research on mass timber panels to demonstrate how preconceived notions of wood’s height limitations can be challenged. The implication of this wood system is a solution to the paradox of increased construction and decreased environmental impact. Should the global community embrace these new production and assembly methods, wood can once again become a dominant presence in building design - even join the material palette of skyscrapers.
PERCEPTION
B E N E F ITS O F W O O D
million tons
Fifty percent of today’s world population lives in urban environments. That number is estimated to rise to seventy percent by 2050, with three billion people needing a new affordable home. As density becomes a critical problem, the building industry must adapt to meet these demands. Steel and concrete currently dominate large-scale, urban building design, even though these structures embody more energy, emit more greenhouse gasses, release more air and water pollutants, and produce more solid waste than wood design. The building industry is already responsible for one third of the world’s green house gas emissions, an unsustainable percentage. As we are faced with the task to construct new cities to hold our rapidly swelling numbers, we must be conscious of how our methods and materials have significant ecological impacts.
B U I L D I N G W ITH W O O D
million m3
TH E S I S
Hollow or ribbed panels = less timber
Standardization to match transportation dimensions
Educate architects, engineers, developers
