18 Storey Timber Tower Block

[Messyshaw]

Anyone fancy living here?

An 18 storey timber tower block in Norway. Very clever construction and from a sustainable source, but would any developer in the UK have an appetite for this post Grenfell?

Website 

Fire testing 

You Tube:

 

[LFB97]

Impressive design there, not sure I’d opt to live in it however haha!

I’d be more concerned for its structural integrity more than anything, mainly becuase I’ve never worked with timber and it always keeps me guessing about how they test a timber beams and joints within, other than load testing, anyone know how? Becuase with steel beams there usually all sent through X-ray testing before they are used same as all the welded joints to ensure it’s 100% sound, I’d be interested to see what testing is used on timber beams and the joints within before they’re used?

[Steve]

Yes it's CLT construction... (Cross Liminated Timber) or Glu-Lam? (maybe one type opf trade name). The title once belonged to Hackney no less. The tallest wooden building in the World was the 9 storey StadHaus in Murray Grove Hackney, since joined by another similar height building in Dalston and now surpassed by others. The current tallest is either in Australia or Canada. Essentially, if you think about fires in wooden buildings you think about many thinner beams which make ideal firewood. The principle of CLT is that the elements of construction are very thick (think tree trunk). When involved in fire, a sacraficial layer of charred wood actually gives even longer protection. (we've all seen clean wood when cutting away). Apparently with CLT, fire resistence is measured in hours before collapse.

Nothing to see here, move along.

[Messyshaw]

6 hours ago, Steve said:

Yes it's CLT construction... (Cross Liminated Timber) or Glu-Lam? (maybe one type opf trade name). T

CLT has timber layers glued at right angles to those layers either side giving strength in all directions and can be used for floors, walls and roofs

Glulam is where layers of timber are glued in parallel to each other, with the grain in and identical direction,  giving strength in one direction. Glulam can be bent and is used widely for beams

 

This is a huge subject for the future of green building construction so I cannot agree with the 'nothing to see here' comment. Both products are light and above all sustainable and as Steve has said, very resilient in fire. But that is what was said about timber framed houses 35 years ago, and that has not been proved yet.

I quite like the materials and to be fair, they are not new. Its the height of the buildings and the loads they are expecting CLT and Glulam to take now is the innovation 

Have a look here at some of the innovation that is planned or under construction - including plans for an  80 storey / 300m tower in Barbican London announced in April 2016

https://www.designboom.com/architecture/wooden-skyscrapers-timber-tower-construction-roundup-07-31-2016/