Vittorio Salvadori
834463
Supervisor
Prof. Marco Torri
Co-Supervisor
Prof. Wolfgang Winter
A.A. 2016/2017
The DeVeLOPMeNT Of a
TaLL W O O D
bui L Di N g
ABSTRACT
Climate change and demographical
increase in developing countries are
inducing us to reconsider the way we build
the buildings. Concrete and steel have
already reshaped our cities for 2 centuries
but problems related to the non-sustainable
aspects of steel and concrete are now
appearing in their productive system,
characteristics, creation process and energy
demands.
It is necessary to ind new solutions, especially
regarding high-rise buildings which will be
one of the main typologies of construction in
a more and more urban future scenario.
The only structural material that can tackle
the future demand of building is wood as Mass
Timber Products. There are already several
successful examples of how this material
could answer architectural challenges.
As architects, we have the power to choose
how the building is built and realized. On our
profession stands a great chance to increase
the realization of sustainable buildings. Since
the beginning of mankind, wood structure
was one of the most common types and
this trend was decreased only in the last
2 centuries thanks to the rise of steel and
concrete structures.
The 21st century can be instead the century
of the renaissance of wood an the motifs
are really a lot. Sustainable, renewable, zero
impact and other qualities certiied that it
must be considered as possible solution.
The context of the competition Wien
Heiligendstadt Wohnen und Arbeiten is
a pretext to show how an international
competition can adopt Mass Timber as
technological solution compared with a
concrete solution. Showing the plus points
and demerits of wood as a structural material
is the main aim of this Master Thesis.
Additionally, this Master Thesis aims to
demonstrate the feasibility of an on ield
context rather than a theoretical solution,
while also displaying the current status of
wood technology.
I
ABSTRACT (ITALIANO)
Il cambiamento climatico e la crescita
demograica nei principali paesi in via di
sviluppo sono elementi che ci devono far
ripensare al modo in cui costruiamo gli ediici.
Cemento e acciaio hanno già trasformato
le nostre città per 2 secoli ma solo adesso
emergono i problemi ambientali relativi al loro
processo produttivo, le loro caratteristiche e
il loro negativo impatto sull’ambiente.
E’ necessario trovare soluzioni alternative, in
particolare riguardo ediici multi-piano, una
delle principali tipologie in un futuro molto
più urbano.
L’unico materiale strutturale che può
contrastare la futura richiesta di ediici è
il legno, inteso come prodotto di legno
massiccio e di cui ci sono già signiicativi
esempi di come questo materiale possa
risolvere diverse side che l’architettura pone.
Come architetti, abbiamo il potere di
scegliere come concepire gli ediici e di
come realizzarli. Nella nostra professione è
riposta la grande possibilità di aumentare la
realizzazione di ediici sostenibili.
Sin dall’alba dell’umanità, le strutture di legno
furono le più comuni e il loro trend diminuì
solo negli ultimi 2 secoli a causa della nascita
delle strutture in acciaio e in cemento.
Il 21esimo secolo può essere il secolo della
rinascita del legno e sono diversi i motivi.
Sostenibile, rinnovabile, a zero impatto
ambientale sono alcune delle sue qualità
II
che la devono far considerare come la
soluzione possibile.
La
competizione
internazionale
Wien
Heiligendstadt Wohnen und Arbeiten
è il pretesto per mostrare come una
competizione
internazionale
possa
adottare il legno massiccio come soluzione
tecnologica.
Il confronto con il progetto di concorso
concepito in cemento ambisce a mostrare i
vantaggi e gli svantaggi di questa soluzione
strutturale.
Inoltre, si cercherà di concepire il progetto
di tesi come soluzione professionale, non
teorica, adattando le attuali tecnologie per
il legno massiccio.
RINGRAZIAMENTI
Volevo ringraziare per aver portato a termine
la tesi con soddisfazione il prof. Marco
Torri che ha seguito sempre con interesse
lo sviluppo della tesi e mi ha supportato in
questo periodo.
Un grazie va anche al prof. Wolfgang Winter,
che ha suscitato in me con le sue lezioni la
passione per queste tematiche e che mi
ha guidato con pazienza e interesse alla
realizzazione di questo lavoro. Un grazie
anche al dipartimento ITI dell’università di
Vienna in particolare al prof. Felipe Riola per
i consigli e la disponibilità.
Un grazie anche a tutto lo studio di
architettura Alles Wird Gut, all’arch. Friedrich
Passler, all’arch. Felix Reiner, all’arch.
Marko Acimovic e all’arch. Teresa Ricardo
per avermi insegnato molto riguardo la
professione di architetto e per avermi sempre
motivato e incoraggiato durante il periodo
di tirocinio.
Un ringraziamento particolare alla mia
famiglia Giorgio, Gaudenzia, Ilaria ed Esterina
per l’aiuto che mi è stato dato ovunque fossi,
grazie perché siete stati sempre dispensatori
di ottimi consigli e instancabili motivatori nei
momenti meno facili di questo percorso.
Con voi è stato tutto più facile.
Ringrazio anche Lillian, che con pazienza
e affetto mi ha aiutato e supportato nel
periodo inale di questo lavoro.
Ringrazio Andrea e Marco per la vicinanza,
l’incoraggiamento e l’amicizia che hanno
sempre avuto nei miei confronti.
Un ringraziamento anche ai compagni
di università Alberto, Cristina, Federico,
Riccardo e Anna a cui auguro il meglio
per la loro carriera, agli amici Gennaro,
Eva, Riccardo e tutti gli altri che mi hanno
accompagnato in questo percorso.
III
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1 CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.1
Climate and urban changes
10
1.2
Wood as sustainable solution
12
1.3
Wood as building material
16
1.3.1
1.3.2
Wood based examples
Hybrid examples
1.4
Challenges for Tall wood
22
1.5
Tall wood projects
30
1.5.1
1.5.2
1.6
Mid-Rise projects
High-Rise projects
General considerations
60
PART 2 THE REFERENTIAL CONCRETE BUILDING
2.1
Overview of the Competition
68
2.2
Phase 1 results and Phase 2 data
72
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.1
Project goals
76
3.2
The Plot 3 Project structure
78
3.3
Lessons from the Tall Wood examples
82
3.4
Structural design
86
3.4.1 Structural plans
3.4.2 Gravity resisting system
3.4.3 Gravity resisting system - Tests
3.4.4 Lateral load resisting system
3.4.5 Structural materials
3.4.6 The application of the structural systems
3.4.7 Structural considerations related to ire
3.4.8 Building process considerations
3.5
Architectural Design
125
3.5.1 Plans
3.5.2 Typical details
3.6
Building services Design
151
3.6.1 Systems comparison
3.7
Structures comparison
157
3.7.1 Pros and cons of the Mass Timber structure
PART 4 NEXT STEPS AND CONCLUSIONS
4.1
Recommendations
163
4.2
Conclusions
165
List of reference
167
Bibliography
168
Vittorio Salvadori
The Development of a Tall Wood building
PART 1
THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
The climate change, the material and examples
Master Thesis
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.1
CLIMATE AND URBAN CHANGES
500
480
Carbon dioxide level (parts per million)
460
440
420
Current level
400
380
360
340
For centuries, atmospheric carbon dioxide had never been above this line
320
1950 Level
300
280
260
240
220
200
180
160
400 000
350 000
300 000
250 000
200 000
150 000
100 000
50 000
0
Years before today (0 = 1950)
Figure 1: This graph, based on the comparison of atmospheric samples contained in ice cores and more recent direct measurements, provides evidence that
atmospheric CO2 has increased since the Industrial Revolution. (Credit: Vostok ice core data/J.R. Petit et al.; NOAA Mauna Loa CO2 record, Source: NASA)
There are two main challenges regarding
the worldwide environment which mankind
will to face this century: climate change and
demographical urban growth in developing
countries.
Climate change situation
The Earth’s climate has changed throughout
history. Just in the last 650,000 years there
have been seven cycles of glacial advance
and retreat. The abrupt end of the last ice
age about 7,000 years ago marked the
beginning of the modern climate era and of
human civilization. The main thing responsible
for these climate changes are very small
variations in Earth’s orbit that change the
amount of solar energy our planet receives.
Scientiic evidence for warming of the
climate system is unequivocal. The current
warming trend is of particular signiicance
because most of it is extremely likely (greater
than 95 percent probability) to be the result
of human activity since the mid-20th century.
10
The trend is proceeding at a rate that is
unprecedented over decades to millennia.1
Earth-orbiting
satellites
and
other
technological advances have enabled
scientists to see the big picture by collecting
many different types of information about our
planet and its climate on a global scale. This
body of data, collected over many years,
reveals the signals of a changing climate.
The heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide
and other gases was demonstrated in the
mid-19th century.2
Many of the tools own by NASA have the
ability to affect the transfer of energy through
the atmosphere. There is no question that
increased levels of greenhouse gases are
causing the Earth to warm in response.
Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica,
and tropical mountain glaciers show that
the Earth’s climate responds to changes in
greenhouse gas levels. Ancient evidence can
also be found in tree rings, ocean sediments,
coral reefs, and layers of sedimentary rocks.
1.1 CLIMATE AND URBAN CHANGES
This ancient, or paleoclimate, evidence
reveals that current warming is occurring
roughly ten times faster than the average
rate of ice-age-recovery warming.3
CO2 emissions are most responsible for the
climate change effects on our planet.
The rising economy strongly demands fuel
and emits pollutions; the most polluted
cities are in India and China, presently both
countries have rising economies and hold
the majority of mankind. The Paris Climate
Agreement signed in 2016 by most of the
countries in the world follows the Tokyo
Agreement and is another step towards real
action to reduce CO2 emissions by the richest
countries in the world.
The effect of the slight rise of the temperature
is already clear in all its damage and
devastation. These effects prove the need
for strong action and intervention on the
lifestyle of people along with the production
of their necessities.
Urban situation and previsions
Today half of the people of the earth live in
a city and by the 2040 this number will rise to
75%. City means density and density means
tall buildings. 3 Billion people in 30 years will
need a home, which will equal 40% of the
world. The challenge for architects and for
the society will be to ind a suitable solution
to house these people.4
The city materials
Cities are made of two materials: concrete
and steel and the 20th Century was deinitely
the century for these two building materials.
From the research of Perret passing by Le
Corbusier’s “Vers un’architecture” followed
by the Modern Movement, concrete
replaced brick, wood and stone and started its
golden age. In America, it became common
practice to build with steel especially when
it came to high rise buildings. Today, these
two materials are held most responsible for
shaping our cities. They are great materials
but they also embody a great amount of
energy and greenhouse gas emissions in
their process. In fact steel represents 3%
of human greenhouse emissions on earth
and concrete over 5%. So, 8% of the entire
human gas emissions come from only these 2
materials. Moreover, statistics say that almost
half of the CO2 emissions are related to the
building industry. This is in comparison to the
highly criticized transportation industry which
produces “only” 33%.5
If we understand that 3 billion people will
need a new home in the next 30 years,
and we think about the fact that the usual
materials we build the city with are so heavy
in resource emissions, we need to consider
an alternative material to build with, and
that alternative is wood.
3%
Figure 2: This schematic map shows where there will be the greatest human
concentration in 2050. India, China and Africa will be the most populated
areas in the world.
5%
Figure 3: The entire process of fabrication of concrete and steel is affecting
the CO2 emissions for 8% together.
11
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.2
WOOD AS SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
Figure 4: The Forest in the world.
As architects, when facing the climate
change and pollution process, the only
material that grows in a sustainable way,
grows by the natural power of the sun, is
wood. When a tree grows in a forest, it gives
off oxygen soaks up dioxide. When that
tree dies and decomposes in the forest, the
CO2 stored inside will be released into the
atmosphere and will burn away. But if you
take that piece of wood and use it as part of
building, a furniture or a toy, it has the great
capability to store that amount of CO2. 1 m3
of wood can store 1 ton of carbon dioxide.
For the future of humanity we need to reduce
and store the CO2 emissions. As architects we
can use a material that can do both.6
12
Forest status in the Europe and in the world
When we think about wood as building
material we could think about the risk of
deforestation.
We must know that in the world, forests
represent the 29,6% of the earth surface. The
European forests represent only the 5% but
are the most used for the wood production:
in fact the European forest sector covers
around 25% of the actual worldwide
production of forest products and around
30% of wood panels, paper and cardboard.7
Forest area in Europe currently amounts to
215 million hectares and accounts for 33% of
the total land area.8
Every year 776 million cubic meters of wood
is grown in Europe and only around two-third
of them are harvested: the remaining 286
million cubic meters are in forests and are
thereby increasing the total European forest
area every single year.9
Despite the fact that the internal demand for
forest products is growing and the European
1.2 WOOD AS SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
Union is becoming one of the largest exporters
of wood products, its forests are growing. To
better understand how vast the forests in
Europe are, take this example: if we divided
the overall forest surface for every European
citizen, each would receive a portion equal
to the size of two and a half football ields.10
Furthermore data shows that over the last
25 years, the total growing stock in forests
increased by an average of 403 million m3
each year. This corresponds approximately
to a daily increase in the total stem volume
of living trees in European forests equivalent
to twice the volume of the Eiffel Tower.
Currently in Europe’s forests there are 20
billion cubic meters of wood. Annually only
64% of the increment is cut.
The European forest industry recognizes
that its future is inextricably linked to forest
protection and expansion. There is an
intention to plant more trees than they are
cut. All European countries have policies and
measures related to reforestation. Although
the number of trees planted per hectare vary
depending on the species and the nature
of the ground, these will always be greater
in number than those cut, which allows the
forest to regenerate. But if Europe’s forests
are gaining ground, globally the situation is
more complex. According to the FAO, Latin
America and Africa are the continents with
Figure 5: The increase (or decrease) as a percentage of forest areas from
1990 to 2015 in European countries.
the highest rate of deforestation in the world,
respectively 4 and 3.4 million hectares lost
each year from 2000 to 2010. As for Asia, the
large tree planting programs in China are
able to offset the heavy losses of Southeast
Asia, a region that appears among those at
high risk of deforestation.11
Figure 6: The increase and the annual decline in forest areas in the world.
Data period 2000-2010.
13
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
6
Wood
Steel
Concrete
Normalized to wood value=0.75
5
4
3
2
1
0
Fossil
Energy
Resource
Use
GWP
Acidiication
EutroOzone
Smog
phication Depletion Potential
Figure 7: Embodied effects relative to the wood design across all measures
14
Protected forests
In Europe, about 12% of the forest area is
speciically protected in order to preserve
the biological and landscape diversity. Of
these, more than 1.6 million hectares are
forest reserves. There are large tracts of
protected forests in Northern and Eastern
Europe, which are managed by keeping
human intervention to a minimum. 85-90% of
European forests perform multiple functions
at the same time and helps to protect the
soil, water and natural ecosystem.
1000
Area in million hectare
Carbon Footprint
No other material has as small of a carbon
footprint as wood. A carbon footprint is a
measure of the volume of carbon dioxide
emitted into the atmosphere as a result of
particular activities, products or behaviours.
Using the footprint, you can measure the
impact a material has on the environment.
A lot of materials leave a very large footprint.
In comparison to other materials, wood has
a very small carbon footprint. This is due to
sunlight and the photosynthesis process
helping the trees absorb CO2. Trees store
the “C” and they release the “O2” back
to the atmosphere. Forest management
allows trees to be taken out before they rot
and release their stored CO2 back into the
atmosphere. This creates space for new
trees to quickly grow and actively absorb
CO2. Additionally, forest management is
important because the use of timber vastly
prolongs CO2 storage, allowing it to remain
in secure place for decades. Using timber
instead concrete or steel reduces the
CO2 building’s emission by 50%. Moreover,
wooden buildings store tons of CO2 similar
to forests and an entire district made out of
Timber products could be considered just like
a second forest
1990
2000
2010
800
600
400
200
0
Africa
Asia
Europe
North Central
America
Oceania
South
America
Figure 8: Million hectare proteced in each continent.
Sustainable forest Management
Despite the great variety of natural and
plantation forest types, there are third party
administered, internationally recognized
sustainable forest management (SFM)
protocols applicable to each.
These protocols provide assurance to
governments, industries, architects and the
public alike that the quantity of wood ibre
harvested does not exceed the quantity
of wood ibre produced by tree growth
on an annual basis, nor compromises the
ecological services the forest provides.
The main regional and national system
is endorsed by the Programme for the
Endorsement of Forest Certiication (PEFC)
which is a non-proit organization based in
1.2 WOOD AS SUSTAINABLE SOLUTION
Geneva, Switzerland. Alone PEFC certiies
around 65% of the world’s certiied forests.
The other main organization is the Forest
Stewardship Council (FSC) which is also a
non-proit organization formed by multistakeholders.
The main difference between these 2 methods
is that PEFC is a “bottom up” organization,
in order to be easily recognizable between
countries while FSC is “top down” which
means that it develops its own standards and
applies them to the different bio-scenarios.
different buildings materials, products and
complete structures over their lifetime. It
therefore combines the impacts of embodied
energy (the amount of energy required to
extract, process, fabricate, transport and
install a particular material or product) with
those of building operations, maintenance
and end-of-life dismantling and disposal. In
almost every case, LCA demonstrates that
wood is the most environmentally responsible
structural material when used in functionally
appropriate applications.
Forest and Carbon Cycle
The main aim of the forest management is
to guarantee the continued growth of trees
that sequester and store carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere. Adopting smart ways to use
wood, guarantees a long-term mitigation of
climate change.
For most of its life a growing tree uses the
sunlight it receives to sequester CO2 and
converts the carbon it contains into cellulose,
the main component of wood ibre.
This carbon remains in the wood until the tree
begins to decay or is destroyed by ire, at
which point it is released again as CO2. This
process is part of a complex system of global
carbon exchange known as the carbon
cycle. Deforestation is the main problem the
carbon cycle is faced with, along with the
increase in human activity dependant on
fossil fuel per capita and the resulting impact
it causes. These new factors have created
now a climate instability that is shown daily.
Conclusion
Forests are complex systems that especially
in the present moment are showing us their
weak points. Despite the huge problem of
deforestation, it is important to state that
cutting trees in a managed process can
be not only an economical advantage but
also a sustainable way to guarantee the
carbon cycle, especially when that wood is
transformed in building material.
Life cycle Assessment (LCA)
The preferred method of comparison is the Life
Cycle Assessment. LCA is accepted across
the world as an impartial way to evaluate
and compare the environmental impacts of
15
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.3
WOOD AS BUILDING MATERIAL
Figure 9: The different phases of the production of engineered wood elements.
Wood is like the snow, no two pieces are the
same, it has a natural effect on people that
is not comparable with steel or concrete. It
is a renewable building material that can
be dismantled and re-used really quickly. It
is locally produced and certiied. In Austria
but also in Italy, Germany, Slovenia and in
the Scandinavian countries. Wood is a great
economical resource and it could be even
more so if the wood building technology
becomes predominant. As we said wood
ia a high-tech industrial product with a low
CO2 footprint. Compared with concrete and
steel it has less weight, less transportation and
lifts, less foundation and piling, less people
and effective mounting. It has also a ire
resistant capability. From a technical point
of view, timber can compete with all other
construction materials.
Wood characteristics
Because of its natural origin, the strength and
stability of wood varies with the orientation
16
of grain and moisture content. Controlling
these two variables is the key to creating
components and structures that are precise,
dimensionally stable, strong and ultimately
more durable.
Wood only becomes biodegradable in a
moist milieu. As long as it is the right wood,
treated with care, utilized with know-how
,and therefore shielded from moisture,
wood’s endurance is almost unlimited. Wood
is highly resistant to acids, bases, salts and
other chemicals. Ventilation is important; it
avoids the penetration of humidity, allows
surface water to drain off and assures quick
drying due to air circulation. Right angled
to the grain, wood has 100 times less tensile
strength than along the grain, it swells and
shrinks - depending on humidity.
These problems can be solved with derived
timber products. Plywood panels for example
neither swell nor shrink and show a constant
strength. In general, the used wood should
never exceed 20% moisture content.
1.3 WOOD AS BUILDING MATERIAL
The lifetime of a timber building is remarkable,
timber frame houses often have to be
renovated after they are more than 300
years old, but they still do not need more
care and effort than other buildings.
Fire behaviour
Metal construction deform rapidly under the
inluence of heat. A wooden beam however,
keeps its stability for a longer period of time.
This is because even dry wood contains
water that has to vaporize. Until then, the
temperature of wood ranges around 100 °C.
At around 270°C, combustion starts with a
burning velocity of around 1mm/min (pine
wood *0,76mm/min; hardwood *0.5mm/
min). Even at 1000°C temperature wood
stays unharmed 1 cm under the charred
surface, while the residual cross of the
compression strength of concrete is reduced
by two-thirds.
Figure 10: the section of a trunk with the charred layer
Comparison with other building materials
Wood grows again, fossilized raw materials of
unlasting resources are being preserved. Due
to the emergence of construction material
wood, the environment is supported. Trees
only need water, earth and air and from the
air they even extract harmful CO2.
If we analyse the CO2 emission for the
production of different construction materials
(kg/m3) we can see:
Wood
16
Concrete 120
Steel
5 300
Aluminium 23 000
Since the transport route of regionally grown
material is short, it saves energy, avoids
complicated further processing, 100% of the
material can be used (no wastage) and it
has a low use of energy for manufacturing.
Furthermore Timber construction is lexible.
The modern processing methods
The common perception people have
about wood, is soft wood, susceptible both
to physical damage by ire and to decay
if allowed to remain wet for a prolonged
period of time.
In reality, the engineered processed wood
we now use as building material is engineered
massive wood products which are stronger,
more consistent and more dimensionally
stable than traditional solid sawn material.
Engineered wood products
The engineered wood products are realized
by bonding together wood strands, veneers,
small sections of solid lumber or other forms of
wood ibre to produce a larger and integral
composite unit that is stronger and stiffer
than the sum of its parts.
The wood that makes the engineered
products is generally made up from smaller
trees using a greater percentage of the tree.
Figure 11: The way a tree is cut to obtain CLT panels
17
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.3.1
WOOD BASED EXAMPLES
The wood industry is rapidly developing,
and always advancing new techniques.
Especially in Europe there are deep-rooted
and powerful companies contending in the
world market. Most of the wood supplier
companies can produce a wide range of
products but most of them are specialized in
a particular product such as CLT or glulam
products. The following materials are the
main ones used in current day practice and
in the next Mass Timber chart building.
Glue-Laminated Timber
Deinition: Glulam is manufactured by gluing
together individual pieces of dimension
lumber under controlled conditions to form
larger linear elements.
Used for: Columns, beams, headers and
horizontal trusses
Wood source: North America: Douglas Fir,
SPF (spruce, pine, ir), larch (Larix Decidua)/
Europe: red pine (Pinus resinosa) and white
spruce.
Dimensions: Thickness of 25, 34 mm, widths of
80 to 170 mm. Lengths 3 m or longer.
Laminated Veneer Lumber
Deinition: LVL is produced by bonding thin
wood veneers together in a large billet so
that the grain of all veneers is parallel to the
long direction.
Used for: Floors, walls and roofs mainly but
also beams and headers.
Wood source: Different wood spices (Douglas
Fir and lodge pole pines)
Span:1 direction spanning capabilities
Dimensions: Because is made with scarfed
jointed veneer, is available in lengths far
beyond conventional lumber lengths.
18
1.3 WOOD AS BUILDING MATERIAL
Laminated Strand Lumber
Deinition: LSL is made from laked wood
strands that have a length-to-thickness ratio
approximately around 150.
Used for: Floor, walls, roof panelling or vertical
members
Wood source: Strands of fast growing
aspen (Populus remuloides) or tulip poplar (
Liriodendron tuipitera)
Span:1 direction spanning capabilities
Dimensions: Panels came with a range of
standard thickness and a maximum width of
2,4 meters.
Cross-Laminated Timber
Deinition: CLT is comprised of multiple layers
of alternating boards stacked together,
with the alternating layers at right angles to
one another. Layers are bonded to form a
composite panel with exterior layer following
the direction of the applied loads.
Used for: Floor, walls, roof panelling
Wood source: Variety of species (often
beech)
Span: 2 way direction spanning capability
Dimensions: 3 to 7 layers (16 to 51 mm each
layer); width 1,2; 2,4 or 3,0 meters.
19
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
Nail-Laminated Timber
Deinition: NLT is made up of regular solid sawn
framing members arranged side by side on
edge and fastened together with nails or lag
screws.
Used for: Floor
Wood source: Variety of species (Douglas ir
and SPF)
Span: 1 way direction spanning capability
Dimensions: Non applicable standards
Other: It doesn’t need capital investment to
be produced because it could be produced
in a conventional wood shop.
Adhesives
Except for Nailed Laminated Timber products
and CLT, all the other previous mentioned
panels are glued using formaldehyde-based
glues. The type of glue depends on the
temperature of the process, interior or exterior
use, or inishing requirements.
20
1.3 WOOD AS BUILDING MATERIAL
1.3.2
HYBRID EXAMPLES
Massive Timber + Concrete Composite Floor
Deinition: This type of hybrid solution is
composed generally of a layer of CLT or
Mass timber panel with another layer of
concrete (mostly pre fabricated) divided by a
protecting thin layer between the 2 materials
in order to avoid moisture effect.
Used for: Floor
Wood source: Depends on Mass Timber
source panels
Span: 2 way direction spanning capability
Dimensions: Depending on truck capability
because of the prefabrication process took
place not in the building site.
Glue-Laminated Steel Beams
Deinition: A beam formed by a core of steel
folded by 2 glulam beams which both protect
and work mechanically together with the
steel beams. It is a solution developed and
tested by the TU University of Vienna, by the
ITI department.
Used for: Beams, headers and horizontal
trusses
Wood source: North America: Douglas Fir,
SPF (spruce, pine, ir), larch (Larix Decidua)/
Europe: red pine (Pinus resinosa) and white
spruce.
Dimensions: It follows the typical steel sizes
adopting the Glulam beams to the length
and thickness of the steel beams.
21
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.4
CHALLENGES FOR TALL WOOD
Tall Wood Systems
Structural
systems
Lateral Force
Systems
Connections
Design
Fire strategies
Mass Timber
Panel System
Vertical
Lateral/Seismic
Force Resisting
Beam to beam
Sprinklers systems
Beam to column
Design for burnout
Column to column
Encapsulation
Column to
foundation
Facade
Horizontal
Lateral/Seismic/
Force Resisting
Post & Beam
Hybrid
Diaphragm design
Wind
Tall wood buildings are a cutting edge topic.
In the last decades depending on the
continent, wood companies and engineers
already faced several challenges which are
reported in the following chapter.
Structural systems
Structural Form
Stiffness is the key-word for a tall wood
building. Stiffness then will dictate the
structural form of tall timber buildings.
Designing for stiffness rather than strength
creates a situation where it is necessary to
use walls to limit delections.
Moment-resisting structural frames become
too lexible even for 3 or 4 storey buildings,
and are unable to provide economical
section sizes that are suficiently stiff for taller
buildings. In order to increase the feasibility
of structural frames for tall timber buildings,
diagonal bracing elements must be added
to increase the stiffness of the whole structure,
following the example of many structural
22
Longevity
Building
Process
steel frame designs.
Stiffness can be signiicantly increased using
box, C or I section walls around the stairwell
and lift cores. Converting a single wall into
an I-shaped core group will increase the
area of timber required by 2 while increasing
lexural stiffness by 3.9 times. In the design of
these walls, however, the tube stiffness could
be signiicantly reduced by connections
between panels which should be considered
as part of the system design and not be left
for last-minute veriication during detailing.
Post-tensioning can be used to connect
solid wood panels to each other and to the
foundations.12
In structures without suficient walls to carry all
of the gravity loading, loors are supported on
timber beams and columns. Prefabricated
timber loors and timber-concrete composite
loors represent some of the timber based
looring systems available. These can be
post-tensioned if long spans and low loor-toloor heights are necessary.
There are 3 different possible categories to
1.4 CHALLENGES FOR TALL WOOD
recollect the number of buildings realized
presently.
Mass Timber Panel systems
The particularity of the wood buildings is that
they are made, if chosen, in massive wood.
This could be developed in a structural
system that is becoming normal to design
houses and mid-rise buildings in Europe.
Hybrid systems
There were some cases where the designers
decided to mix the characteristics of various
materials in order to achieve goals of high
prefabrication, cost reduction or higher
stiffness. This is why there are some hybrid
solutions realized where concrete, Mass
Timber and steel are working together to
guarantee the structure performance. One
of the most famous example is the case
of LCT Tower which is a combination of
prefabricated loors of concrete and glulam
columns integrated to prefabricated glulam
with special steel connections columns which
makes the building an interesting example of
high prefabrication.
Figure 12: Schematic image which shows the elements of a panel system.
Post & Beams systems
As for concrete or steel buildings, post &
beams structure is also used particularly in
wood buildings. The principles is the same
as the other construction system: size of the
beams, depth of the ceiling and span all
must be considered.
Figure 13: The interior view of the structure of the Wood Innovation Centre.
Figure 14: The hybrid concrete+glulam loor in the Life Cycle Tower
23
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
Lateral Force Systems
The structural form of a tall timber building will
most likely be governed by the desire to limit
lateral movement. The need to limit lateral
displacements may also govern connection
design.13 The physical size of possible timber
element production, transportation limits, or
limits on what can be placed on-site, all lead
to many connections being required for a tall
timber structure. Each of these connections
acts as a ‘soft’ area reducing stiffness in
the wall system. Early in the design process,
the impact of connections on total building
stiffness must be accounted for, even if this
is simply by applying an estimated reduction
to the total stiffness of solid walls. If this
stiffness reduction is not considered early on,
more walls and expensive fasteners may be
needed during the detailed design, leading
to unforeseen structural costs. Because the
lateral load design of tall timber structures is
often governed by the displacement of the
lateral load resisting system, is it necessary to
know the stiffness of all the timber members
and their connections. Unfortunately the
stiffness of fasteners is often neglected in
design, with only limited guidance given in
design codes, and values often affected by
large scatter. Manufacturers of proprietary
products like brackets or hold-downs normally
provide strength values, but little information
about stiffness. This represents one signiicant
area of improvement needed to enable tall
timber structural design.
Vertical Lateral/Seismic Force Resisting
Systems
To resist against the Lateral Force effects the
Mass Timber can introduce in their structural
system shear walls or a rigid core. The core
for several reasons could be preferred in
24
concrete but there are several examples
with the mass timber core. If the designers
chose the second one there is always shear
walls that are inside and on the facade,
depending on the height and the plan. The
constructive difference that exists between
concrete and wood core is that the concrete
one has to be complete until the last level
in order to start the wood construction. This
means the building must be cantilevered
twice, which requires more time. The wood
core instead could be designed every 4-5-6
loors (depending on loor-to-loor height and
transportation of the trucks) and assembled
on site. This shaft could be used to help the
erection of the rest of the building.
Figure 15: The different CLT core walls mounted in the building site.
1.4 CHALLENGES FOR TALL WOOD
Horizontal Lateral/Seismic Force Resisting
Systems
When we consider the Vertical Resisting
systems it is usually referred to as the
Diaphragm: roof, loor transferring lateral
forces to the vertical resisting elements
• Diaphragm loads are generally uniform
loads, resisted by the diaphragm in bending,
similar to a horizontal deep beam
• Diaphragm bending results in tension/
compression in chords perpendicular to load
Diaphragm Design
Timber diaphragms tend to be more
lexible than their concrete counterparts,
with increasing loor spans further reducing
stiffness. In seismic design, although the
presence of lexible diaphragms causes
closely spaced modes (i.e. a number of
modes with almost the same period of
vibration, corresponding to the diaphragm
frequency) and elongates the fundamental
period of the structures, this can normally be
neglected in the design of the vertical lateral
load resisting system. Because of the higher
modes of the lateral load resisting system
and the diaphragms, the force demand on
the diaphragms cannot be estimated with a
simple equivalent static analysis.
When designing for wind loads, the role
of the diaphragm in tying lateral load
resisting elements together is crucial to
good performance. The load path from
the façade elements to the vertical load
resisting elements needs to be guaranteed.
Wind loads normally create line loads along
the diaphragm boundary, so it is necessary
to transfer these forces into the remaining
part of the diaphragm to fully activate it.
Wind suction on the leeward face of the
building is a special case requiring tension
connections to the adjacent diaphragm
panels and between all components of the
diaphragm, whether they be massive timber
panels or light timber framing.
Considerations about wind
A wood structure is highly lexible and this
means that design base shear from wind
loading is usually higher than that from
possible earthquake loading, even in high
seismic areas. In this way the goal of tall wood
building is assessing the strength of the lateral
load resisting system at the ultimate limit state
(ULS), and checking the lateral delections at
the serviceability limit state (SLS).
Beside this there are also the wind-induced
vibrations to take in account. They are a
general problem for all the tall buildings,
but because of the low mass of the building
and the low stiffness of the wood materials
in wood building they need to be carefully
considered. Possible solutions include
vibration control such as tuned mass
dampers or increased understanding and
modiication of the building proile through
wind tunnel testing.
Connections Design
Tall timber buildings will have very large
structural members which must be designed
to resist very large structural forces. Because
wood is a brittle material, ductility in timber
structures generally comes from ductility
in the steel connections, which have to be
carefully designed to ensure appropriate
behaviour.13 This is why the connections in
Mass Timber Buildings are one of the main
aspects to consider from the beginning of
the design of the building.
The considerations that must be made are
regarding:
25
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
- Structural capacity
- Shrinkage
- Fire
- Constructibility
- Aesthetics
- Cost
What is always common in wood buildings
in general it is the large use during the
construction of Long self tapping screws:
sizes, role and position can change.
26
Column to column connections
This is a particular topic in the “2 way deck”
systems but it could be found also in other
systems. Usually the loors are shaped to
it in the connection that it is in steel and is
nailed to the top and in the bottom of the 2
columns.
Beam to beam connection
It consists of two steel parts nailed both in
the 2 beams that has to be connected in a
perpendicular way.
Column to foundation connection
One important topic in mass timber building
is the ground loor connection. All the
buildings require concrete foundations and
the connection between these 2 different
systems has to be carefully planned in order
to avoid moisture problems that can affect
the wood part and compromise the entire
building life. Similar to the column to column
connection, the column to foundation
connection is usually comprised of a steel
plate with a moisture barrier.
Figure 16: An example of hidden Beam to beam connection.
Figure 17: An example of Beam-Foundation connection.
Beam to column connections
The wood companies developed different
ways to connect the beam to a column
but the main principle is that there is a
predisposition in the section of the column
that allows the beam to be ixed in the
required place.
A large number of connectors can add
signiicantly to the cost of tall timber buildings.
The use of proper products is one way to
limit this cost, however early consideration
is necessary to assess how they will interact
with other aspects of design and consenting.
1.4 CHALLENGES FOR TALL WOOD
Fire systems strategies
The main cultural problem related with wood
is ire resistance and its behaviour in case of ire
for the safety of the occupants of the building.
Heavy timber has excellent ire resistance,
which is well documented in the literature.
This excellent behaviour is a result of the slow
and predictable rate of surface charring in
severe ires, leading to simple calculation
of ire resistance by subtracting the charred
area and a thin layer of heat-affected wood
from the original cross-section. As a result of
this charring behaviour, unprotected heavy
timber structural elements have excellent ire
resistance, much better than unprotected
structural steel, for example.
Fire safety goals
Fire safety is a major concern in all tall
buildings, regardless of materials. The taller
the building, the more attention must be
given to:
1. Prevention of vertical ire spread
2. Fire resistance to avoid structural collapse.
3. Encapsulation of structural timber.
4. Design for burnout.
Sprinkler systems
Generally every high-rise building need to be
sprinkled. This is not mandatory in the case
of mid-rise buildings except for some cases
(hospitals, laboratory, particular program.
Automatic ire sprinkler systems provide
by far the best ire safety for tall buildings
(active ire protection). However they are
not 100% reliable. Possible failure can occur
as a result of maintenance problems, too
many sprinkler heads being activated due
to an explosion, or no water supply due to
a major earthquake or terrorist event. If the
sprinklers work as intended, zero structural
ire resistance is required, but everything
changes if the sprinklers do not work for any
reason, and a small ire grows through lashover to a fully developed ire.
Sprinkler reliability is essential for ire safety
in tall timber buildings. Strategies to reduce
the risk of sprinkler failure include on-site
water supplies, reliable pumps, enhanced
maintenance systems, and frequent security
checks.
Design for a burnout
Design for burnout requires prevention
of vertical ire spread from loor to loor,
regardless of structural materials.
The only certain way to design for burnout in a
timber building is to apply full encapsulation,
so that none of the structural timber ever
begins to char, throughout the full process
of ire growth, development and decay.
The required encapsulation will depend on
several factors:
- The ire severity, and duration of the burning
period
- The rate of temperature drop due to
ventilation in the decay phase of the ire
- The effectiveness of partial encapsulation
- Intervention after the ire is out
Encapsulation
One of the main issues between architects
and ire engineers is not the use of
wood as building material but rather the
encapsulation of the wood in gypsum boards
in order to drastically reduce the risk of ire.
But from a structural engineering viewpoint,
critical structural elements such as isolated
columns must be well protected to prevent
any chance of disproportionate collapse.
This can be done by adding extra sacriicial
27
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
wood or full encapsulation.
For burnout control, in the unlikely event of
sprinkler failure, full encapsulation of all wood
surfaces solves the possible residual charring
problem, but it is expensive, and may be
unacceptable to the architect and the
building owner who want to see the exposed
wood linings and structure.
Facade
Besides the requirement of ire resistance
of the loor-ceiling system and all walls
enclosing vertical stairs, shafts or services, it is
also essential to design the exterior façade.
Spandrels and windows can contribute to
the propagation of the ire to other levels
of the buildings and a detailed design will
reduce the risks.
Design for longevity
Long term performance and durability of tall
timber buildings is similar to regular timber
buildings, however, the cost of failure is
signiicantly greater due to the increased
cost of the structure.
Long term delections can be controlled
and designed for using widely accepted
creep coeficients. Care must be taken
where a combination of materials is used,
for example the attachment of non-lexible
facade or around steel lift shafts, to ensure
that movement can be accommodated.
Internal and external moisture control
always requires careful attention in a timber
building. Moisture and temperature change
will cause timber to shrink and swell, however
under normal, climate controlled, conditions
this is not a signiicant factor even in a tall
timber building. Nevertheless, this should be
checked throughout the design phase to
make sure there are no real issues.
28
Figure 18: Wood walls and ceiling exposed.
Figure 19: Columns, beams and part of the ceiling exposed.
Figure 20: Wood ceiling and furniture exposed.
1.4 CHALLENGES FOR TALL WOOD
Figure 21: Wood columns exposed.
Figure 22: Wood columns and beams exposed, also post-tensioning
anchorages and dissipation devices.
Design for construction
A big challenge for designers of tall timber
buildings is to design and detail structural
elements that can be economically
produced under factory conditions, then be
erected rapidly and be connected together
with suitable connections which will serve the
life of the structure.
Big cost advantages of timber structures are
the cost savings in preliminaries, i.e. the onsite costs. Accurate dimensioning through
CNC machining leads to rapid construction.
Reduced erection time, lighter members,
therefore requiring less cranes, improved
handling, and accurate tolerances of the
pre-fabricated timber members can provide
large savings, in addition to those from early
occupation of the building. Cost savings
can be further increased by partial or full
pre-fabrication of sub-assemblies like wall
or loor panels and by pre-installing all steel
hardware on the timber elements.
Bed weather conditions during construction
can impair the constructibility and aesthetics
of timber structures due to swelling and
staining of the timber. To prevent this, proper
erection planning is necessary and timber
members should be protected temporarily
by wrapping them individually, or by the use
of temporary cover of the whole structure.
Contrary to common belief, timber will not
deteriorate if exposed to the weather for
a short period of time, but care should be
taken to keep this time to a minimum.
Figure 23: Wood ceiling, beams and columns during the process of
encapsulation.
29
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.5
TALL WOOD PROJECTS
Because of these, along with many
other research project performed
mainly by universities and companies,
the number of mid-rise and high-rise
buildings has grown signiicantly.
The architects, the engineers and
the companies started since the
beginning to apply new technology
as CLT or Glue laminated columns and
beams at some projects.
Some ofices specialized themselves
from the beginning regarding some
particular wood technology such as
Wough & Thilsdome from London who
focused international attention on
their project of 7-storeys CLT building
in London.
As it is possible to see from the map,
the most of the projects are made
or proposed in Europe, where the
CLT technology is born. Besides that,
only Canada, USA and Australia are
developing their own way to solve
high-rise challenges.
14 2 12
23 10
America
30
14
19
20
23
Wood Innovation Design Centre, Canada
T3, USA
Arbora, Canada
Portland 12, USA
2
3
10
12
UBC Brock Commons, Canada
Origine Condos, Canada
Framework, USA
Port Living, Canada
20
19
3
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
21
11
17
6
1
16 15 13
10
22
2 3
16
1
12 18 9
8 14 4
9 4
5
15
11 7
5 7 8
13
24
6
Europa
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
15
16
17
18
E3, Germany
StadtHaus, UK
Bridport House, UK
Holz8 Germany
Life Cycle Tower, Austria
Panorama Giustinelli, Italy
Maison de l’Inde, France
Wagramerstrasse, Austria
Pentagon II, Norway
Cenni di cambiamento, Italy
Dalston Lane, UK
Contralaminada, Spain
St. Diè des Vosges, France
Strandparken, Sweden
Puukuokka; Finland
Banyan Wharf, UK
Oceania
21 Moholt 50/50, Norway
22 Santuary, UK
1
4
5
6
7
8
9
11
13
14
15
16
6 Forté, Australia
24 5 King, Australia
TREET, Norway
HoHo Tower, Austria
Silva, France
Mjøstårnet, Norway
Hyperion, France
Canopia, France
Haut, Netherlands
Frihamnen towers, Sweden
Sida Vid Sida, Sweden
HSB landmark, Sweden
Baobab, France
Life cycle tower, Austria
31
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.5.1
MID-RISE BUILDINGS
Mid rise structure are not new in the history
of human buildings but the following chart
displays the most representative examples
of mid-rise buildings made with the modern
technology of Mass Timber products.
Respect to high-rise buildings, nowadays
more than 100 projects are realized with a
number in storeys between 4 and 10. The
race began immediately in Berlin in 2007
and the continuous perfection of techniques
brought for new solutions. It is also important
that not only a speciic building typology
was developed in these years, but nearly all
of the buildings typologies have examples in
mid-rise mass timber building.
The distinction
While there are no universally accepted
deinitions for low-, mid- and high-rise
buildings, the following division is commonly
accepted:
Low-rise = 1-4 stories
Mid-rise = 4 -10 stories
High-rise = 10 stories and above
The actual division which exists between mid
rise and high rise buildings is given mainly
by the Buildings Code. In fact normally a
building of maximum 10 storeys needs less
ire regulation strategies compared with a
much higher building. In addition usually
the Buildings Code requires more building’s
characteristics because higher a building is,
the higher the number of people live in it.
The direction
This irst generation of buildings is continuously
developing and every year wood providers,
companies and building companies are
proposing new systems respective the
junction, products and prefabrication
improvements.
32
Figure 24: E3, Berlin.
Figure 25: Stadthaus, London.
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
Figure 26: Wood Innovation Centre, Vancouver.
Figure 27: Life Cycle Tower, Dorbirn, Austria.
Figure 28: Via Cenni, Milan.
33
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
Building data
ICON
YEAR
Main professionals
NUMBER WOOD
CLEAR HEIGHT TOTAL SURFACE
STOREYS
NAME
CITY
PROGRAM
COUNTRY
ARCHITECT
ENGINEER
MAIN WOOD
SUPPLIER
COUNTRY
COUNTRY
COUNTRY
KadenDl. Ing.
Klingbeil
Professor
Architekten J.Netterer
GER
GER
2007
7
25 m
2 700 m2
Berlin
GER
Residential
2008
7
23 m
3 100 m2
London
UK
Residential
2010
8
26 m
5 500 m
London
UK
Residential
Karakusevic
Peter Bret
Stora Enso
Carson
Associates
AT
Architects
UK
UK
2011
8
25 m
6 000 m2
Bad Aibling
GER
Ofice
Schankula
Bauart
Architekten Konstruktion Binderholz
AT
GER
GER
2012
8
27 m
18 400 m
Dornbirn
AT
Ofice
Merz Kley
Hermann
Partners
Kaufmann
+
Architekten
2F GmbH
AT
AT
2012
10
32 m
2 500 m2
2013
7
22 m
4 500 m
2013
7
23 m
14 500 m2
-
E3
Waugh
Thistleton
Architects
UK
Techniker
UK
KLH
AT
StadtHaus
2
Bridport House
Holz8
2
Wiehagat
AT
Life Cycle Tower One
Lend Lease Lend Lease
Melbourne
Residential
UK
UK
AUS
KLH
AT
Trieste
ITA
Luciano
Lazzari
Residential
Architetto
ITA
BDL
Progetti
ITA
Rubner
ITA
Paris
FRA
Libsky
Rollet
Student
Residence Architects
FRA
Rubner
ITA
Rubner
ITA
Forté
2
Panorama Giustinelli
Maison de l’Inde
34
Post & Beam
Hybrid
Glulam + Steel
Glulam + Steel
Mass Timber +
Concrete
Ceiling
Mass Timber
Column
Glulam
Beams
Glulam
Structural System
Panel System
Concrete
Core
Mass Timber
Concrete Podium
Lateral Force Systems
Shear Walls
Exposed wood
Fire systems
Enveloped gypsum
Sprinkled
Double Glass Layer
Facade
Non combustible
material
Balconies / Loggias
Energy
LLED
PassivHaus
BREEM
BREEM
Cycle and Prizes
Sustainability
CasaClima
Tons CO2 Saved
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
Wood facade
310
Source: Project Websites, Wood suppliers websites, bibliography, ProHolz Austria, specialized articles.
Rigid Facade
35
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
Building data
ICON
YEAR
Main professionals
NUMBER WOOD
CLEAR HEIGHT TOTAL SURFACE
STOREYS
CITY
PROGRAM
Social
Housing
ARCHITECT
ENGINEER
Schluder
Architektur, Woschitz
Hagmüller
Group
Architekten
AT
AT
MAIN WOOD
SUPPLIER
2013
7
22 m
8.440 m2
Vienna
AT
Binderholz
AT
2013
8
24 m
4 000 m2
Oslo
NO
2013
9
27 m
30 000 m2
Milan
ITA
2013
9
32 m
16 000 m
London
UK
2014
6
20 m
900 m2
SPA
Residential
2014
8
29 m
4820 m2
Vancouver
CAN
Ofice
2014
8
27 m
2 100 m2
ASP
St.Diè des
Ingénierie
Vosges
Bois
Residential architecture
FRA
FRA
FRA
2014
7
22 m
4 060 m2
Wingårdhs
Stockholm Residential
Arkitekter Martinsons Martinsons
SWE
SWE
SWE
SWE
Wagramerstrasse
BAS
Residential Arkitekter
NO
Høyer
Finseth
NO
Moelven
NOR
Rossiprodi
Associati
ITA
Borlini&
Zanini
CH
Stora Enso
FIN
ARUP
UK
Binderholz
AT
Pentagon II
Social
Housing
Cenni di Cambiamento
2
Waugh
Thistleton
Residential
Architects
UK
Dalston Lane
Ramon
Ramon
Llobera
Llobera
Arquitecte Arquitecte
SPA
SPA
KLH
AT
Contralaminada
Wood Innovation Centre
Micheal
Green
Architects
CAN
Equilibrium Structurlam
CAN
CAN
KLH
AT
St. Dié-des-Vosges
Strandparken
36
Post & Beam
Hybrid
Glulam + Steel
Glulam + Steel
Mass Timber +
Concrete
Ceiling
Mass Timber
Column
Glulam
Beams
Glulam
Structural System
Panel System
Concrete
Core
Mass Timber
Concrete Podium
Lateral Force Systems
Shear Walls
Exposed wood
Fire systems
Enveloped gypsum
Sprinkled
Double Glass Layer
Facade
Non combustible
material
Balconies / Loggias
Energy
CasaClima
Cycle and Prizes
Sustainability
LEED
Tons CO2 Saved
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
Wood facade
2,400
Source: Project Websites, Wood suppliers websites, bibliography, ProHolz Austria, specialized articles.
Rigid Facade
37
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
Building data
ICON
YEAR
Main professionals
NUMBER WOOD
CLEAR HEIGHT TOTAL SURFACE
STOREYS
NAME
CITY
PROGRAM
COUNTRY
2015
8
28 m
10 000 m2
Jyväskylä
FIN
London
UK
ARCHITECT
ENGINEER
MAIN WOOD
SUPPLIER
COUNTRY
COUNTRY
COUNTRY
OOPEAA
Stora Enso
Ofice
FIN
FIN
Stora Enso
FIN
Pringuer
Hawkins\
James
Brown
Residential
Consulting
Architects
Engineers
UK
UK
B&K
Structures
UK
Residential
Puukuokka
2015
10
33 m
6 750 m
2016
7
31 m
21 000 m2
Minnesota
USA
Ofice
2016
8
27 m
55 000 m2
Montréal
CAN
Ofice
Residential
Lemay
+
CHA
CAN
Nordic
Structure
CAN
Nordic
Structure
CAN
2016
9
31 m
21 800 m2
Trondheim
NO
Student
Housing
MDH
Arkitekter
NOR
Moelven
NOR
Moelven
NOR
Under
Construction
(2018)
7
30 m
4 200 m2
Glasgow
UK
Mast
Residential Architects
UK
CCG
UK
CCG
UK
Design
Phase
(2018)
8
25 m
3 200 m2
Portland
USA
PATH
Residential Architecture
USA
-
-
Under
Construction
(2018)
10
52 m
14 900 m2
Brisbane
AUS
2
Banyan Wharf
Micheal Magnusson
Green
Klemencic
Architects Associates
CAN
USA
Structure
Craft
CAN
T3
Arbora
Moholt 50/50
Sanctuary
Carbon 12
5 King
38
Ofice
Bates Smart
Aurecon
Architects
AUS
AUS
-
Post & Beam
Hybrid
Glulam + Steel
Glulam + Steel
Mass Timber +
Concrete
Ceiling
Mass Timber
Column
Glulam
Beams
Glulam
Structural System
Panel System
Concrete
Core
Mass Timber
Concrete Podium
Lateral Force Systems
Shear Walls
Exposed wood
Fire systems
Enveloped gypsum
Sprinkled
Double Glass Layer
Facade
Non combustible
material
Balconies / Loggias
Energy
LEED
BREEM
Cycle and Prizes
Sustainability
LEED
3,200
LEED
1 760
14.921
6 Star Green Star
Design
Tons CO2 Saved
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
Wood facade
2.800
Source: Project Websites, Wood suppliers websites, bibliography, ProHolz Austria, specialized articles.
Rigid Facade
39
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.5.2
HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS
High-rise buildings in building construction
is recent and at its initial stages. As we saw,
there were several mid-rise buildings already
realized in 2007 like the E3 building. But to
ind the tallest structure in Mass Timber up
to 10 storeys we had to wait until 2014 when
TREET in Norway reached, for the irst time in
modern wood construction, 53 meters.
The race
Since 2014 we can see how regularly towers
rise and break previously held records. The
chart reveals that post & beams structural
systems is presently the main strategy for
building high with wood structures. What is
also emerging is the unclear and uncommon
strategies used to solve the different
problems that arise. It is clear we are still in
a irst generation of buildings which are
rapidly rising in the Western part of the world,
creating the necessary experience for the
coming generations.
The role of local government
Most of the buildings in the chart are partially
founded by government funding in order
to help mainly architects and engineers to
develop and face challenges that otherwise
could be too risky in terms of economical
investment or for testing. These countries
active funds must be another incentive for
those who do not recognize the importance
of these necessary irst buildings. We have
also to remind people that all the realized
buildings are an active source of information
and knowledge for the community. This is
because they are still tested and analysed
by local universities in particular or by the
same wood provider companies with the
aim to understand fully the goal achieved
and the possible future challenges.
40
Figure 29: TREET, Bergen.
Figure 30: Framework, Portland.
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
Figure 31: Mjøstårnet in Norway.
Figure 32: Canopia, Bordeaux.
Figure 33: UBC Brock Commons under construction.
41
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
Building data
ICON
YEAR
Main professionals
NUMBER WOOD
CLEAR HEIGHT TOTAL SURFACE
STOREYS
NAME
CITY
PROGRAM
COUNTRY
2014
14
52 m
7 000 m2
480 m2
Bergen
NOR
ARCHITECT
ENGINEER
MAIN WOOD
SUPPLIER
COUNTRY
COUNTRY
COUNTRY
Sweco
Norge
NOR
Merk
GER
Artec
Residential Architecture
NOR
TREET
2017
18
53 m
15 000 m2 Vancouver
825 m2
CAN
10 000 m
UBC Brock Commons
2
Acton Ostry
Architects
CAN +
FAST + EPP StructurLam
Students
Hermann
CAN
Housing
CAN
Kaufmann
Architekten
AT
Quebec
City
CAN
WSP
Yvan Blouin
Canada
Architecture
Residential
+
CAN
Génécor
CAN
Nordic
Structure
CAN
Vienna
AT
Mixed Use
Rudiger
Leiner
Architekten
AT
Woschitz
Group
AT
-
Moelven
NOR
Moelven
NOR
Kpff +
Arup
(Fire)
USA
Structure
Craft
CAN
Studio
Bellacour
+
Art & Build
FRA
Elioth
FRA
Lamecol
FRA
Arup
NL
-
2017
12
41 m
Under
Construction
(2018)
24
84 m
Under
Construction
(2018)
18
81 m
Voll
15 000 m2 Brumunddal
Mixed Use Architects
840 m2
NOR
NOR
Under
Construction
(2018)
12
44 m
8 400 m2
880 m2
Origine Condos
25 000 m2
1210 m2 Tot /
480 m2 main
tower
Hoho Vienna Tower
Mjøstårnet
700 m2
Portland
USA
LEVER
Mixed Use Architecture
USA
Framework
Design
Phase
(2019)
18
54 m
14 200 m2
Design
Phase
(2019)
21
73 m
Team V
14 500 m2 Amsterdam Residential Architects
600 m2
NL
NL
800 m2
Bordeaux
Residential
FRA
Silva
Haut
42
Post & Beam
Hybrid
Glulam + Steel
Glulam + Steel
Mass Timber +
Concrete
Ceiling
Mass Timber
Column
Glulam
Beams
Glulam
Structural System
Panel System
Concrete
Core
Mass Timber
Concrete Podium
Lateral Force Systems
Shear Walls
columns
Exposed wood
Enveloped gypsum
Fire systems
columns,
beams
columns,
beams
columns,
beams
Sprinkled
Double Glass Layer
Facade
Non combustible
material
Balconies / Loggias
Passive-Hause standard
achived
Energy
-
-
2 300
2 400
-
Tons CO2 Saved
LEED
Norway class B
-
-
LEED
-
Cycle and Prizes
Sustainability
Radiant loors and smart
garbage shute
-
-
1 000
NF Habitat HQE
Fan coil air system and
radiant loors
-
-
BREEM
-
Energy generating facade
and waste water
puriication system
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
Wood facade
3 000
Source: Project Websites, Wood suppliers websites, bibliography, ProHolz Austria, specialized articles.
Rigid Facade
43
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
Building data
ICON
YEAR
Main professionals
NUMBER WOOD
CLEAR HEIGHT TOTAL SURFACE
STOREYS
NAME
CITY
PROGRAM
COUNTRY
Cultural
Centre /
Hotel
(Tower)
ARCHITECT
ENGINEER
MAIN WOOD
SUPPLIER
COUNTRY
COUNTRY
COUNTRY
White
Architects
SWE
Florian
Kosche
SWE
-
Equilibrium
+ RJC
CAN
-
Tham &
Videgård
Arkitekter
SWE
Folkhem
SWE
-
JeanPaul
Viguier
FRA
?
Woodeum
FRA
Mathis
FRA
Mathis
FRA
Hermann
Kaufmann
Architekten
AT
Arup
GER
Wiehagat
AT
Design
Phase
(2019)
19
76 m
12 000 m2
Design
Phase
(2019)
18
71 m
8 000 m2 Vancouver Residential Shigeru Ban
290 m2
CAN
JAP
Design
Phase
(2019)
20
41 m
10 000 m2 Stockholm
Mixed Use
470 m2
SWE
x4 towers
57 m
7 000 m2
600 m2
Skelleftea
SWE
Sida Vid Sida
Port Living
Frihamnen Towers
Design
Phase
(2020)
18
400 m2
Bordeaux
Residential
FRA
Hypérion
Design
Phase
(2023)
19
Proposed
(2011)
Sou
Fujimoto
JAP +
Bordeaux
Residential
Laisné
FRA
Rousell
Architects
FRA
54 m
(64 m top)
5 700 m2
20
63 m
18 300 m2
Proposed
(2014)
34
100 m
C.F. Moller
15 000 m2 Stockholm Residential Architects
450 m2
SWE
SWE
Tyrens
SWE
-
Proposed
(2015)
35
(120 m)
Micheal
Green
Residential,
Architects
Hotel
CAN
DVVD
FRA
REI
Habitat
FRA
300 m2
Canopia
900 m2
Prototype
Dorbirn
AT
Mixed Use
Life Cycle Tower One
HSB 2023
Baobab
44
-
Paris
FRA
Post & Beam
Hybrid
Glulam + Steel
Glulam + Steel
Mass Timber +
Concrete
Ceiling
Mass Timber
Column
Glulam
Beams
Glulam
Structural System
Panel System
Concrete
Core
Mass Timber
Concrete Podium
Lateral Force Systems
Shear Walls
ceiling
Fire systems
columns,
beams
Exposed wood
Enveloped gypsum
Sprinkled
Double Glass Layer
Facade
Non combustible
material
Balconies / Loggias
-
1 000
-
-
-
Tons CO2 Saved
-
-
Biosource
Certiication
-
-
LEED
-
Cycle and Prizes
Sustainability
-
Energy
-
-
-
-
-
-
3 700
REI habitat
Energy generating facade
Passive hause standard
and loor system with tubes
acjieved
and cables
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
Wood facade
-
Source: Project Websites, Wood suppliers websites, bibliography, ProHolz Austria, specialized articles.
Rigid Facade
45
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
TREET
The building is formed by a net of diagonal,
vertical and horizontal beams and columns
structure standing above a concrete podium
with a Mass Timber core.
The residential units are fully prefabricated
and were mounted on site already inished.
The gravity loads system is composed of CLT
loors which support the residential modules.
In two levels there are concrete loors that
are necessary for the construction phase and
help for the general stiffness of the building.
The lateral forces are taken mainly by the
big diagonal beams which also the building
visually. There is a Mass Timber Core the main
stairs, elevator shaft and walls in corridors are
made in CLT.
The main ire strategy is to provide
encapsulation for the structural elements,
but keep the vertical and diagonal columns
exposed, which are inside the building.
Regardless, all the constructive parts have a
R90 Fire resistance, meanwhile the modules
compose the lats are dimensioned to
withstand ire for 74min.
All exposed timber elements are ire treated
and there are no cavities with combustible
materials left uninsulated The building is fully
sprinkled, including the balconies.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: 2014 (1st /13)
Height: 52,8 m (13th /15)
Floor surface: 480 m2 (11th /15)
Storeys: 14
Floor to loor height: 2,9 m
Position of the core: Lateral/central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 25 x 25 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 8 x 8 m
Floor - Span: ~ 8 x 4 m
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: Glulam (40x40 cm)
Columns: Glulam (40x60 cm / 50x50 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber (only 3 storeys concrete)
Core: Mass Timber
Lateral Force Systems: Concrete podium
and diagonal beams
46
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
BROCK COMMONS
This tower is a hybrid structure consisting of 17
storeys of mass timber construction erected
on a concrete podium.
The vertical loads are carried by the timber
structure, and the two concrete cores
provide lateral stability.
The gravity load system of levels 2 to
18 consists of glulam columns with steel
connectors supported by 5-ply CLT panels on
a regular grid, which acts as a two-way slab
diaphragm: the CLT panels will be oriented
on the long axis of the building and installed
in a staggered coniguration.
All structural elements are encapsulated
with multiple layers of gypsum board, which
encapsulates the mass wood structure for irerating purposes, but the wood is left exposed
in an amenity space on the top loor. It has
an automatic sprinkler system with back-up
water supply, and the compartmentalized
units have a 2-hour ire rating between suites,
as opposed to the typical 1-hour rating.
The facade of the building is highly
prefabricated; the size of the panel is 8 m long
x the height of one loor, 2,8 m. The facade is
composed by high-pressure laminate panels
containing 70% wood based ibres, and preinstalled windows.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: 2017 (2nd /13)
Height: 53 m (12th /15)
Floor surface: 840 m2 (5th /15)
Storeys: 18
Floor to loor height: 2,8 m
Position of the core: Lateral/Double
Floor Plans measure: ~ 15 x 55 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 2,85 x 4 m
Floor - Span: ~ 2,6 x 9,6 m
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: Floors act like beams
Columns: Glulam (26x26 cm / 26x21 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber
Core: Concrete
Lateral Force Systems: Concrete podium
and concrete cores
47
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
ORIGINE CONDOS
Origine Condos is a residential building with
a combined structural system that behaves
like a Panel system, up to 13 storeys.
The gravity load system is composed by CLT
loors which are supported by some beams
along the building. The building stands on
the top the concrete podium where the
forces are transmitted.
The lateral forces are taken mainly by Mass
Timber core, the several shear walls and by
the rigid facade. Also in this case the wood
is fully encapsulated with several layers of
gypsum boards.
A long time in the making, the project has
drawn on input from federal and provincial
oficials as well as research institutes, and
will help pave the way for the development
of a North American market for solid wood
building products made in Quebec.
The building was chosen in Mass Timber
because of the lightness of the wood, the
ground where the project was made is not
so resistant and therefore concrete building
could permit only half of the storeys.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: 2017 (3rd/ 13)
Height: 40,9 m (15th /15)
Floor surface: 880 m2 (3rd /15)
Storeys: 13
Floor to loor height: 2,9m
Position of the core: Central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 25 x 45 m
Columns - Distance: Floor - Span: ~ 10 x 5 m
Structural System: Panel system
Beams: Glulam (40x40 cm / 28x28 cm)
Columns: Glulam (40x40 cm / 28x28 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber
Core: Mass Timber
Lateral Force Systems: Concrete podium, Mass
Timber core, shear walls and rigid facade
48
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
HOHO TOWER VIENNA
This building is composed of 3 parts with
different heights and 2 reinforced concrete
cores, each with integrated stairs, elevators
and shafts.
The gravity loads system is composed
by Precast Concrete Beams standing on
Glulam columns and supporting a hybrid
concrete loor with the necessary tubes and
pipes already installed (12 cm) and CLT (16
cm loor) for a total of 28 cm of structural
prefabricated loor.
All the lateral forces are taken by the 2
concrete cores.
All the wooden surfaces inside are visible:
ceiling, supports and exterior walls.
The ire strategy is innovative for Austria, the
hybrid concrete and CLT loors are approved
for a charring method, therefore all the loor
ceilings are exposed, but with a calculated 8
cm charring ire protection which ensure 90
min ire resistance.
To minimize the ire effects, the building has
small ire compartments, with extremely short
escape routes and ire brigade attack routes.
The exterior walls are solid pre-fabricated
components with non combustible (A2)
external cladding.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: 2014 (4th/ 13)
Height: 84 m (2nd /15)
Floor surface: 1270 m2 (1st /15)
Storeys: 24
Floor to loor height: 3,5 m
Position of the core: Central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 55 x 40/20 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 2,3 x 6,5 m
Floor - Span: ~ 2,3 x 6,5 m
Structural System: Hybrid System
Beams: no beams
Columns: Glulam (40x30 cm / 40x55 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber (only 3 storeys concrete)
Core: Concrete
Lateral Force Systems: 3 Concrete cores
49
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
MJøSTåRNET
The main structure will consist of glulam
columns, beams, diagonal beams, and
cross laminated timber in elevator shafts and
stairwells.
The gravity load system is composed mainly
of CLT loors, except for the last 7 loors, in
order to increase the stiffness of the tower.
The Mass Timber structure starts already
from the ground loor of the building and
has only concrete foundations without an
underground level.
The lateral loads system is a combination of
a Mass Timber core on one side and several
diagonal beams located on other 3 sides of
the rectangular plan. These diagonal beams
are behaving like TREET in Bergen (also in
Norway) and are not exposed to the outside
but are included inside the building, keeping
them visible.
The ire strategy consist of full encapsulation
of the building but not of the vertical elements
such as columns and diagonal beams.
There will be an automatic sprinkler system.
The elevation of Mjøstårnet will be dressed
in wood panels in a stylized and repeating
pattern, inspired by the movement of water
and the way light dances on the ripples of its
surface.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Design Phase - 2018 (5th/13)
Height: 81 m (3rd /15)
Floor surface: 840 m2 (4th /15)
Storeys: 18
Floor to loor height: 3,20 m
Position of the core: Lateral/central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 42 x 20 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 8 x 8 m (main ones)
Floor - Span: ~ 9 x 7 m
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: Glulam (70x50 cm)
Columns: Glulam (110x110 cm / 70x70 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber (last 7 storeys concrete)
Core: Mass Timber
Lateral Force Systems: Diagonal beams and
Mass Timber Core
50
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
FRAMEWORK
Framework will be the irst Mass Timber highrise building in the USA and will be completed
in 2018. The structural system consists of a
post and beams structure anchored to a
Mass Timber core. The shape of the plan is
nearly a square, and the maximal beam
span is 7 meters.
The gravity load system is composed of CLT
loors nailed to the beam which connect a
column to the beam’s core.
The lateral load system is mainly based on
the big CLT core, which is composed by CLT
panels, glulam columns, and 2 rows of beams
(inside and outside the core) which are
supporting the horizontal beams. Because
of the seismic zone the building introduces
a particular anti-seismic system invented in
New Zeeland, a post tensioning CLT rocking
walls system which will provide a ixed and
set movement in case of an earthquake.
Most of the Mass Timber structure is exposed
because of the charring strategy. The
highest grade of exposition in the building
is in the ofice storeys and the residential
section where only the ceiling is exposed.
The building will be fully sprinkled.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Design Phase - 2018 (6th/13)
Height: 44 m (14th /15)
Floor surface: 700 m2 (7th /15)
Storeys: 12
Floor to loor height: 2,9 m
Position of the core: Central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 30 x 26 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 8 x 3 m
Floor - Span: ~ 8 x 3 m
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: Glulam (40x30 cm)
Columns: Glulam (40x40)
Floor: Mass Timber
Core: Mass Timber (CLT+ Glulam Colums)
Lateral Force Systems: Mass Timber core
51
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
SILVA
Silva is a Mass Timber building based on a
rectangular form with 2 concrete cores in
the middle. The post and beams structure
is developed in the East-West direction and
has big 3-story high double diagonal beams
on the end of the North-South side of the
building.
The gravity load system is composed by CLT
loors supported by horizontal beams which
connect 4 in line columns.
The lateral loads are taken by the two
concrete cores which are located in the
centre of the building, and by the big
diagonal beams at the both ends of the
North and South sides.
The ire strategy consist of a full encapsulation
of the building. The big diagonal beams which
characterize the building are protected by a
glass layer which forms the facade.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Design Phase - 2019 (7th/13)
Height: 54 m (12th /15)
Floor surface: 800 m2 (6th /15)
Storeys: 18
Floor to loor height: 2,7 m
Position of the core: Central / Double
Floor Plans measure: ~ 62 x 22 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 6 x 5 m
Floor - Span: (no data found)
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: Glulam (60x40 cm)
Columns: Glulam (60x60 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber
Core: Concrete
Lateral Force Systems: Concrete Cores and
V shapes Facade beams
52
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
HAUT
The building is developed by ARUP
Netherlands, which is a company already
involved in the development of Tall wood
buildings.
The structure in this case is based on the post
& beams system, with long shear walls and a
concrete core contrasting the lateral loads.
CLT is used especially for the loors system.
Meanwhile, beams and columns are made
in Glulam.
From the oficial website it is possible to
understand that the ire strategy is based
on partial encapsulation of the structural
elements, it’s columns and ceiling are also
left exposed also because they are inside
the building and protected by glass or walls.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Design Phase - 2019 (8th/13)
Height: 73 m (5th /15)
Floor surface: 600 m2 (9 /15)
Storeys: 21
Floor to loor height: 3 m
Position of the core: Lateral/central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 40 x 26 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 5 x 4 m
Floor - Span: (no data found)
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: Glulam (40x40 cm)
Columns: Glulam (40x40 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber
Core: Concrete
Lateral Force Systems: Concrete core and
Diagonal Beams
53
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
SIDA VID SIDA
The Mass Timber tower is part of a complex
urban development in Sweden.
The tower will contain the hotel rooms for the
cultural centre in Skellefteå which will include
a museum and conference centre.
The project is now in its design phase after
that White Architects won the international
competition.
From the competition boards emerges a
double core tower with the rooms disposed
on the longer side of a rectangular shape.
From the oficial render is possible to see a
glass envelop.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Design Phase - 2019 (9th/13)
Height: 76 m (4yh /15)
Floor surface: 600 m2 (8th /15)
Storeys: 19
Floor to loor height: 2,9 m
Position of the core: Lateral/central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 50 x 21 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 4,2 m
Floor - Span: (no data found)
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: (no data found)
Columns: Glulam (30x30 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber
Core: Mass Timber
Lateral Force Systems: Mass Timber Core
54
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
PORT LIVING
A slender 19-storey mixed-use building in
downtown Vancouver’s is the hybrid solution
designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban
and local irm Francl Architecture.
Totalling 54,503 square feet of loor area, the
223-foot-tall (68 metres) building will have 20
residential units, retail space on the ground
loor, and three levels of underground
parking accessible from the street. The irst
12 loors of the building will be constructed
using traditional concrete and steel methods
with balconies and the concrete facade
aligned with the levels of the adjacent
Evergreen Building designed by the late
Arthur Erickson. As for the top portion of the
building, the remaining seven loors, a Mass
Timber Structure design with a triangular
shape has been proposed. While the exterior
and loor plates will be constructed out of
wood, these levels will still be supported by
a concrete and steel core to meet local
seismic building codes. There will be a clear
distinction between the concrete base and
the upper wooden loors. All wood used for
the project will be exclusively sourced locally
from the province.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Design Phase - 2019 (10th/13)
Height: 71 m (6th /15)
Floor surface: 290 m2 (15th /15)
Storeys: 18
Floor to loor height: 3,1 m
Position of the core: Central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 33 x 8 m (Wood tower)
Columns - Distance: ~ 8 x 4 m
Floor - Span: (no data found)
Structural System: Hybrid Post & Beams
Beams: Glulam (50x40 cm)
Columns: Glulam (50x50 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber (last 13 loors)
Core: Concrete / Mass Timber (last 13 loors)
Lateral Force Systems: Concrete/Mass Timber
core
55
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
FRIHAMNEN TOWERS
The project proposes four Mass Timber towers
above a continuous urban block structure.
The towers are based on the same structure
but have different orientations in order
to maximize the sunlight on the mainly
residential rooms of each tower.
A particular condition of the project is the
proximity to the sea.
The towers are planned entirely in one
material, Swedish solid wood, from the load
bearing structure to the facade, inishes
and windows. Through consistent use of a
renewable material like wood, the result is a
sustainable, well insulated and robust house
structure with good potential to perform well
over time, and minimize the total energy
consumption.
The roof of the lower base will be covered with
plants that take care of storm water, while
the roof of the four towers will be itted with
solar cells. At the top of each tower, there is
a common winter garden for recreation and
social activities.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Design Phase - 2019 (11th/13)
Height: 63 m (8th /15)
Floor surface: 470 m2 (10/15)
Storeys: 20
Floor to loor height: 2,9 m
Position of the core: Central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 31 x 15 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 2,2 m
Floor - Span: (no data found)
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: Glulam (60x60 cm)
Columns: Glulam (60x60 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber
Core: Mass Timber
Lateral Force Systems: Mass Timber core
56
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
CANOPIA
Canopia is a project proposed for the great
sustainable development of Bordeaux.
The building won an international competition
and is designed by the Japanese architect
Sou Fujimoto and another local ofice.
The proper tower is relatively small but it is a
part of the project which ic composed by
several parts.
For the competition was studied a mass
timber frame supported by the wood
company Mathis. The frame aims to solve the
different technical construction problems.
The project uses silver ir and spruce beams
and posts. Floors are made from crosslaminated timber, of either silver ir or spruce,
using the Mathis ATEX technique for high-rise
buildings. Glulam timber beams are used in
the post-and-beam frame to stabilize the
tower. Each building on the site aims for a
“Biosourcé” certiication.
In addition, an H&E A-rating is being sought for
the homes, and the ofices will have double
HQE BREEAM certiication to guarantee their
environmental performance.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Design Phase - 2023 (13th/13)
Height: 64 m (7th /15)
Floor surface: 300 m2 (14th /15)
Storeys: 19
Floor to loor height: 2,9 m
Position of the core: Lateral/Central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 25 x 15 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 4 x 4 m
Floor - Span: (no data found)
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: Glulam (40x40 cm)
Columns: Glulam (40x40 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber
Core: Mass Timber
Lateral Force Systems: Mass Timber core and
diagonal beams
57
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
LIFE CYCLE TOWER
This is a pilot project aimed at the realization
of an innovative construction system
characterized by a high degree of industrial
prefabrication capable of meeting the
needs of the contemporary real estate
market.
18 loors are made of wood and stand on
2-story basements of reinforced concrete.
The massive central core contributes to the
stabilization of the building and collects
the horizontal stresses of the soles made of
composite material, wood and concrete.
They stand on uncoated laminated wood
pillars, integrated in the facade elements to
form a grid with a 2.70m module.
The columns are dimensioned for ire
resistance. The vertical forces are directly
transferred through the glulam columns
to the reinforced concrete architrave of
the soles and from there to the next pair of
glulam columns. This prevents unwanted
cross-over compression due to heavy
duty loads. The elements of the plants and
technical services (lighting, cooling, heating,
automatic sprinkler ire extinguishers) were
integrated between the visible ribs of the
slab conceived in laminated wood beams.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Proposed 2011
Height: 63 m (9th /15)
Floor surface: 760 m2 (2nd /15)
Storeys: 20
Floor to loor height: 3 m
Position of the core: Central
Floor Plans measure: 38 x 20 m
Columns - Distance: 2,6 x 8 m
Floor - Span: 2,6 x 8 m
Structural System: Hybrid
Beams: Glulam (20x20 cm)
Columns: Double Glulam (20x20 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber + Concrete
Core: Concrete
Lateral Force Systems: Concrete Core
58
1.5 TALL WOOD PROJECTS
HSB 2023 - VÄSTERBROPLAN
The building is designed around a Mass Timber
structure with stabilizing concrete core and
was thought to act as a new characteristic
landmark and meeting place in the city.
Columns and beams were designed as
glulam and the walls as CLT.
Inside the apartments walls, ceilings and
window frames will be made from wood,
visible from the outside thanks the doubleglass facade.
Both social and environmental sustainability
have been considered, including the
construction process and choice of materials,
but also in terms of residents’ lifestyle.
Continuous surrounding double-shell in the
form of a winter-garden zone surrounds the
building, and adds extra living space to the
homes. The winter gardens’ exterior glazing
shelters the exposed timber structure, and
acts as an energy-eficient thermal climate
buffer zone. At street level there was a café
and a nursery and, in a new neighbourhood
building, all residents in the area will be able
to enjoy a marketplace, gym and bicycle
storage location. A shared winter garden will
make allotments possible.
STRUCTURAL DATA
Year: Proposed 2014
Height: 100 m (1st /15)
Floor surface: 450 m2 (12th /15)
Storeys: 34
Floor to loor height: 2,75 m
Position of the core: Central
Floor Plans measure: ~ 21 x 21 m
Columns - Distance: ~ 5 x 5 m
Floor - Span: (no data found)
Structural System: Post & Beams
Beams: Glulam (50x30 cm)
Columns: Glulam + Steel (30x30 cm)
Floor: Mass Timber
Core: Concrete
Lateral Force Systems: Concrete Core
59
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
1.6
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Building high-rise buildings is possible and
there are several techniques to do it. We
are only at the beginning of a particular
structural and environmental approach in
architecture but by 2023 at least 13 projects
will be realized and they will help for next
generations of projects.
Following, there are some considerations
based mainly on the high-rise data. The goal
is to understand in sections what are today’s
trend in Tall wood design.
Commons is the highest wood building but
when Hoho tower in Vienna will be inished, it
will be in Vienna the highest in the world and
what seems possible is that situation will not
last so long.
The plans
Lateral
core
Central
core
Year
100 m
Hoho
tower
HSB
2018
2022
UBC Brock
Commons
50 m TREET
2014
2017
The chart reveals that the buildings continue
to grow and reach new heights. Since 2015,
when TREET building broke the limit of 10-story,
there has been continuous production of
high-rise buildings that annually break the
previous years record for the tallest wooden
building in the world. In 2017 UBC Brock
Another interesting characteristic that
emerges from the chart is the clear division
between two approaches: central and on
one side core.
The core plays one of the most important roles
in the lateral load dynamic and it’s behaviour
is one of the most detailed characteristic
engineers need to consider. Besides UBC
Brock Commons and Hoho tower, all the
other buildings have a Mass Timber core. This
is also an interesting characteristic because
it shows that Mass Timber core could be used
also as lateral load system (even if concrete
is now preferable for Buildings Code and
100 m
75 m
50 m
25 m
0m
Origine Condos
Framework
TREET
Figure 34: The main high-rise projects aligned from the smaller to the biggest.
60
Silva
UBC Brock
LCT One
Frihamnen Towers
1,6 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
safety).
The size of the building is usually inside
the 20x20/30m square. Only UBC Brock
Commons and Silva are longer buildings with
the special exception of the Hoho tower that
is in reality composed of 3 buildings together
with 2 concrete cores. The longest span is in
the Framework building in Portland, with 8,5
meters.
High rise location
1
2
3
5
Floor to loor height
3m
2m
Silva
Mjøstårnet
Average
High rise buildings are tall and particular but
they can compete with concrete buildings
also in terms of serviceability. For example
the average loor to loor height is nearly
3 meters high. This means that depth of
the ceiling, that has an average of 28 cm
(structural), is like the normal concrete ones.
Canopia
Port Living
Haut
Sida Vid Sida
Until now it seems that 4 countries will have
a great number of high rise wood buildings.
They are Canada, Norway, France and
United Kingdom: if the irst 2 are great
wood producers, it can be interesting for
France, because there they have launched
a program to push the boundaries of
sustainability, which naturally involves and
affects the building sector.
Sustainability
Sustainability, decreased CO2 emissions, and
life cycle are the main reasons why high
rise wood buildings should be designed.
Therefore there is no sense to make this
market operation without a guarantee that
Mjøstårnet
Hoho Vienna Tower
HSB 2023
61
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
the building will be sustainable also after its
realization. This is why all of these buildings
are always certiied with high scores.
Professionals
1
1
2
Michael
Green
architects,
Hermann
Kaufmann and Waugh&Thielston are the
professionals with more Tall wood building
realized. But from this chart, a clear
leader does not emerge from among the
professional groups involved in the creation
of high-rise buildings. Interesting is that
Austrian wood suppliers are the main ones.
Structural System
Post&beam
Beams
If there are Beams in the project most of
the time they are made out of Mass Timber
Products, especially glulam. Discovered in
the irst half of the 20th century, the glulam
technology is now a great solution that
performs really well in structural behaviour.
Columns
Also in this case the most common column
used by these high-rise projects, is glulam
column. Exist different types, one with a steel
component inside the column, or composed
of 2 glulam columns together, but the main
material is always the same.
Floor
Also in this case the loors are mainly
composed of Mass Timber products, but
there are differentiations. Some projects use
CLT loors, others use concrete, others use
Hybrid solutions (concrete + CLT) others use
concrete + glulam beams and still others has
in the same projects different types of loors
(concrete and CLT).
Foundations and Core
Panel
system
Concrete
core
Hybrid
Post&beam
If the Panel system was the most common
in the mid-rise buildings, in the high -rise the
preferred system is Post&Beams (Hybrid or
not). The limit for the Panel system seems
reached by Origine Condos with its 10 Mass
Timber loor. After this height it is normal
consider the high-rise building with a Mass
Timber or Hybrid Post&beam structure.
62
Mass Timber
core
All the projects have a concrete foundations
and most of them have a concrete podium
(usually as part of the underground and
ground loor) in order to avoid moisture
problems in that speciic part of the project.
1,6 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
Also the concrete core is preferred to the
Mass Timber one.
Usually the core is liked with ire regulations
or strong laws which forced the buildings to
be created with concrete cores, but there
are several (6 projects) which are realized
with Mass Timber core, showing that they are
able to guarantee safety and ire resistance
standards.
In Hoho, the ceiling is also exposed thanks to
the approval of the charring strategy for the
loor part by the Austrian government. If it is
not so unusual to use the charring strategy
with small wooden houses, than HoHo could
provide an interesting reference point for
future projects upon its completion. All of the
building has a ire alarm system and most of
them have a sprinkler system.
Other Lateral Force resisting systems
Wind is the main problem high-rise buildings
face and therefore the designer must
consider a way to contrast these forces.
A simple and effective way is a rigid core
which can take all the forces and transfer
them down to the foundations. For small
footprint towers and smaller towers, this
technique is usually enough but if the building
is big, than tall shear walls, a rigid facade, or
diagonal beams must be added to create
the right stiffness.
This the case of most of the Tall buildings
analysed where besides the core there are
shear walls perpendicular the core, a rigid
facade or some diagonal beams (Or V
beams like in the case of Silva), which add
stiffness.
Facade
The external cladding of a building is
important, especially for ire protections.
Nearly all of the high-rise buildings have a
non-combustible cladding facade. Many of
them have also balconies and loggias.
Fire strategies
As we saw before, the ire strategy of a highrise building will consist of total protection,
partial protection or structural exposure of
the wood in the project .
Most of the buildings analysed protect totally
the structure but there are some exceptions.
Some buildings leave exposed the columns
and beams which are usually inside the
building. We are talking about structural
elements of 50 or 70 cm thickness so their
presence in the lat are therefore signiicant.
Conclusions
This overview of the actual Tall wood situation
can shows us different characteristics and
different approaches that differing years
and differing countries had regarding the
realization and the conception of a Tall
wood building.
What it is clear is that the more time passes,
the higher the buildings become.
In the last 10 years (completion of E3 in Berlin,
2007), the tallest Mass Timber structure in the
world passed from 25m to 53m (UBC Brocke
Commons in Vancouver)which is until now
(2017) the tallest structure.
Moreover, other wood Mass Timber buildings
are just now under construction and promise
to reach even higher heights in less than 3
years. The Mjøstårnet tower of Voll Architects
will be 84 meters high.
Another interesting data point that emerges
from this chart is the fact that most of the
CLT of the Tall timber buildings in the world
in made from wood of the Austrian forests.
In fact if we see in the “wood origin” column
63
PART 1 THE CONTEXT FOR TALL WOOD
we can see that also in case of Forté in
Melbourne and UBC Brocke Commons in
Vancouver, the CLT panels where made
out of Austrian wood. Even though the CLT
was technologically born in Austria, it is
interesting how Austrian companies (irst of
all KLH, BinderHolz) are keeping the level of
their products in the top choices of designers
from all over the world.
Considerations about the gravity and lateral
loads strategies
What seems clear from the chart is the fact
that it is possible reach at least 10 storeys with
CLT panels and CLT core. Projects like Via
Cenni and Origine Condos have shown not
only the feasibility of this approach but also
the economical aspect (Via Cenni is a Social
Housing project).
A different approach is made for structures
of more that 10-13 storeys. Here the
characteristics of the taller buildings are
always changing and there is not a similar
structural approach. What it is generally
chosen is the inner core made out of
concrete. As we read in some interviews
made by investors or designers, this seems
to be the most diplomatic choice regarding
ire safety, despite knowing that wood is able
to resist ire well. What seems to happened is
that this irst generation of tall wood building
will be more like hybrid buildings, with some
parts in wood but with trusses in steel, woodconcrete hybrid slabs and concrete cores.
Considerations about constructibility
Another aspect which emerges from
this irst part is the synonymous: “wood =
prefabrication”. Several realized examples
pushed the boundaries of prefabrication
systems like Life Cycle Tower and show
to architects and engineers how quick,
sustainable, and renewable designing could
be with wood. What is also emerging is the
importance of details and pre-designing.
Concrete structures allow some different
measures in some building parts but wood
buildings do not permit even a centimetres
HSB 2023
Figure 35: The highest Tall wood tower analysed compared with the other high building of the world.
64
1,6 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
mistake. In order to fully take advantage of
one of timber’s construction advantages,
every single prefabricated pieces has to
came in the building site perfectly arranged
and correct. This grade of precision and
detailing could be a problem for unprepared
ofices but could be also a great advantage
for experienced ones, allowing them to
achieve the best grade of prefabrication
and speed in construction and safety.
Considerations about the future of the tall
wood buildings
The possibilities offered in today environment
still favour concrete and steel in terms of
building height and economic value. We
are talking about two different situations,
concrete and steel as building materials
were “born” during the end of the 19th
century. Wood as Mass Timber Technology is
instead relatively new but as we saw form the
chart there are signals that this technology
could reach not only higher heights but also
achieve more standard applications and
solutions.
Anyway, because of the variety and
versatility of hybrid wood and steel or wood
and concrete systems, it is more likely that
these will constitute the majority of the
structures to being built in the future.
This must not seem a defeat of wood as a
building material, but must be seen as an
opportunity to develop more and more
sustainable solutions while merging the
best characteristics of every single building
material. Starting with the cost competitive
component and structural easiness.
65
Vittorio Salvadori
The Development of a Tall Wood building
PART 2
THE COMPETITION REFERENCE
Wien-Heiligendstadt Competition
Master Thesis
67
PART 2 THE REFERENTIAL CONCRETE BUILDING
2.1
OVERVIEW OF THE COMPETITION
Figure 36: The competition area.
The competition “Wohnen und Arbeiten
in Wien Heiligenstadt” is an international
competition that took place in the quarters
Wien-Heiligendstadt from August 2016 and
June 2017.
The competition plot is divided by the
metro railways that leads to the metro stop
Heiligendstadt and also by an ofice building
with a particular “C” shape. The area will be
part of a future strategic urban development.
Location
The exact location of the Competition area
is Muthgasse Süd, Heiligendstadt, 1190 Wien.
The site is located in the North part of Vienna,
near the metro station Heiligendstadt and
the residential complex Karl-Marks Hof, one
of the most famous building of Vienna.
The Investors
The projects are funded by a group of private
investors each owning a different part of the
complete plot.
Urban Context
The Competition area is characterized by
the presence of the Danube-channel, a
small channel which has cycle paths and
sidewalks along its channel banks.
Other relevant landmarks are the highrise head-quarter building of one of the
newspapers of Vienna and the Otto Wagner
viaduct, a 20th elevated metro path.
68
The investors list:
Liegeschaften-Eigentümergemeinschaft (BWS-Goup)
Fritz Quester Liegenschaftsverwaltung GmbH
Ing. Wolfgang Kaim
Song+Kong Immoblien GmbH
Sparkassen Versicherung AG.
The Jury
The Judges evaluated both the irst and
second phase projects. The board is
composed by a group of international
professors and architects along with a group
of representative people of the city.
2.1 OVERVIEW OF THE COMPETITION
Competition Area
City Centre
Figure 37: The competition area. Is located in the north of the city centre of Vienna.
69
PART 2 THE REFERENTIAL CONCRETE BUILDING
Main jury members:
Fritz Schumacher, Architekt, Basel
Ute Schneider, Architektin, Zürich (KCAP)
Marina Stankovic, Architektin, Berlin
Robert Kniefacz, MA19, Wien
Gregor Puscher, MA21, Wien
Isolde Rajek, Landschaftsarchitektin, Wien
Peter Lorenz, Architekt, Wien
Irene Ludstöm, MA19, Wien
Eckart Herrmann, MA21, Wien
Carla Lo, Landschaftsarchitektin, Wien
Architectural Ofices of the irst and the
second phase:
Regarding the ofices admitted on the
competition there was a remarkable
international presence
The competing ofices 1st and 2nd phase:
Eller + Eller Architekten, Düsseldort
HNP Architects, Wien
Kleboth Lindinger Dollnig ZT GmbH, Linz
Sauerbruch Hutton, Berlin
Zechner Zechner ZT GmbH, Wien
AllesWirdGut with Erich Raith, Atelier an der Wien
Behnisch Architekten, Stuttgart
COBE, Berlin
Hohensinn Architektur, Graz
Mecanoo, Delft
Morger Partner, Basel
Schneider Schuhmacher, Frankfurt with
Dierich+Untertrifaller, Bregenz
The Program (First phase)
The program consists of the realization of a
urban masterplan, landscape program, loor
plans of high rise buildings and division of
the programme of a 111.000 m2 mixed use
typology with a great number of residential
and ofice square meters.
Several programs are mandatory to be
placed on the ground loor or underground,
meanwhile the placement of the different
type of lats (time shared, for students, big
lats and small ones), the hotel facilities, the
ofices spaces and others like gastronomies,
will be placed where there is free space in
the upper loor.
70
Material requested for the 1 Phase project
1)Masterplan 1:1000 about the general idea
regarding the urban development and the
landscape project
2) Supervision of buildings with storey numbers
and building heights
3) Plans with trees, trafic, access
4) Interior layout of the buildings
5) Entrances and exits underground car park
6) Usage concept Schematic representation
of the distribution of use
7)Axonometric
representations
and
explanations
8) Renderings
9) Statements about materials and colours
10) Proof of 2 hour shadow
11) Schematic loor 1: 500 pedestal loor with
access, free spaces, uses
12) Underground loor plan
13) Views + Sections 1: 500 Design and layout
of the new building complex
14) Flexibility of the typology of apartments
15) Model 1: 1000 on insert plate
16) Text explanatory report
17)
Statements
on
planning
urban
development, architecture, wind comfort,
18) Noise protection, internal trafic
2.1 OVERVIEW OF THE COMPETITION
Figure 38: The 70 meters tower near the competition area.
Figure 39: The underpass near the competition area.
Figure 40: Scheme of the program requested per loor.
71
PART 2 THE REFERENTIAL CONCRETE BUILDING
2.2
PHASE 1 RESULTS AND PHASE 2 DATA
+ 78m
+ 85m
+ 73m
+ 65m
+ 24m
Figure 45: The winning masterpla with the height limits for each tower.
The competition was divided in 2 phases. The
Phase 1 required a Masterplan which would
have been the starting point for the Phase 2,
which consisted in the design of the speciic
towers.
For the winning Masterplan it is important the
topic of the Ground-loor which is a complete
built loor with 2 main stairs.
The towers are punctual, without any inner
courtyard.
Regarding the programmatic organizationin
the masterplan, there functions are strongly
divided and therefore there is a complete
tower only for ofices.
Program Issues
The new urban development has the public
program in the ground loor and in the irst
72
loor, the ofices are requested to design
them only in the irst loor meanwhile the
ones in the ground-loor will be designed by
the winning irst phase team.
Division of the Plot to the winning teams
The plot is divided in 4 parts each submitted
to 3 different ofices: Plot 1 (Ofice tower/s),
Plot 2 (Mainly Hotel tower), Plot 3, divided in
north and south (Residential tower) and Plot
4 (Residential tower).
The thesis project is based on a project for
the Plot 3.
2.3 PHASE 1 RESULTS AND PHASE 2 DATA
Restaurant and
shops
(1st loor)
1 400 m2
Plot 1
Plot 2
Residential units
(70 and 90 m2)
30 200 m2
Plot 3
Plot 4
Kindergarden
2 000 m2
33 600 m2
Figure 46: General tasks given by the Phase 2 Masterplan.
Plot 3 characteristics
Heights
Both the Plots have a maximal height to
relate with: Plot 1: 78 meters, Plot 3: 73 meters.
Noise Considerations
Because of the Metro railway nearby,
constructional noise protection will be
managed by location, shielding, loggias and
location of uses.
Wind comfort
Each studio received a detailed previous
study regarding the wind behaviour in the
competition area. The result shows the
strongest wind is coming from North-East
in direction South. These will induce to ind
particular strategies to protect the entrances
to the towers and to the Restaurant/Bar level.
Constructable limits
The winning Masterplan given some building
limit to respect and the ideal position where
the core of the future towers will be.
Regarding in particular the Plot 3, there were
no obligations to have a separated building
in the division north and south of the plot, but
it was mandatory in respect to the height of
22 meters in the southern part.
73
Vittorio Salvadori
The Development of a Tall Wood building
PART 3
THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD
BUILDING
Re-thinking the concrete structure in Mass timber
Master Thesis
75
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.1
PROJECT GOALS
The aim of the Design part is to design with a
Mass Timber structure the Plot 3 competition
tower made by Alles Wird Gut Architekten.
For a practical motif, the studio of the structure
will be made only on the north part of the Plot
3 project, where the 73 meter concrete tower
is located.
There are 2 types of goals: the general and
speciic. The general goals are the goals which
every high-rise project has; speciic goals refer
to the main design ideas of the Plot 3 Project
which we want to keep.
General Goals
The following characteristics makes the design
of a high-rise building successful:
Marketable
The project must be lexible in the plan and
must be open for other layouts of the plan
conigurations.
The depth of the lats, the ratio of the corridor
surface in respect to the total surface per loor
and the number of lats per loor are important
elements which must be considered.
Serviceable
Facilities, spaces and common spaces, paths
and quality of detail (acoustic, ire resistance,
etc.) create the serviceability of the building.
Also in this point of view the project must be
addressed.
Economical
Every investor wants an economical building.
Thinking about an economical Tall Wood
Building is already dificult. There are several
elements of the structure which could be
PROJECT GOALS
Marketable
The volumetric division
The position of the core
Serviceable
The heights of the building
The general architectural layout
Economical
The same Total Surface
The Podium in concrete
Sustainable
The terraces
The green areas
Develop the installation system
76
3.1 PROJECT GOALS
helpful to push down the overall cost of the
building, if fully developed,
The loor system (which usually is 70% of the
structural material) and the core are possible
examples of cheap solutions.
Sustainable
Building with wood must be sustainable and if
it could be possible to save CO2 emissions with
in the structure, the rest of the architectural
choices could also lead to sustainable solutions.
Speciic Goals
In direct reference to the Plot 3 project, there
were some issues and building characteristic
which were considered important to keep:
The volumetric division
The project is divided in 3 parts: the bottom part
has a bigger volume and has a symmetrical
plan, the middle part has one loor with offset
and straight walls in respect to the other part
of the building and the third part, the tallest, is
composed by the tower;
The position of the core
The position of the core could be a problem
for the lateral load system of a tall wood tower.
Keeping the core as it is will ensure the similarity
of the design project;
The heights of the building
The Competition project reaches 73 meters.
The loor to loor height is 2,88 meters with a irst
loor of 4, meters and 20 other storeys.
The general architectural layout
The building is formed by middle sized lats (from
70 to 95 m2). Obviously some layout changes
(switching form a concrete walls structure to a
post and beams ones) will be necessary.
The overall goal will be keeping the possibility of
having a lexible plan for the middle sized lats.
The same Total Surface
The Total Surface is around 33 700 m2. The aim
is to keep the same amount of m2 without any
big offset or movement of the plans.
The Podium in concrete
Because it was also in the 2nd phase task to
not touch the Podium (Underground+Ground
loor), the aim is to consider it as a concrete
platform as it will be. This part will be not consider
in the speciic design and it will not appear in
the main drawings.
The terraces
What characterize the elevation of the
Competition building are the continuous
terraces.
There are two types of them:
- Loggias: 1,80 m depth
- Balconies: 0,80 m depth.
The terraces are thought as prefabricated
elements which are in a second moment
attached to the concrete structure of the
building.
The green areas
There are 3 different green areas which
characterize the Competition project: above
the irst loor platform, at the 8th loor and on
the top loor of the tower.
Develop the installation system
The competition didn’t required a detailed
studio regarding the installations (cooling,
heating and water systems) but only a short
description in the competition oficial text.
77
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.2
THE PLOT 3 PROJECT STRUCTURE
Figure 56: Perspective view of Plot 3 Project concrete structure
Foundations
The foundation is made by means of a loor
slab adapted to the ground conditions,
below the high-rise building.
The energy design provides for the formation
of the piles as energy piles, which is similar to
a concrete core activation where concrete
is stored or withdrawn via liquid pipes
according to the season and demand.
The surrounding soil with ground water is a
storage volume which is excellent and very
useful for energy purposes. The thickness
of the loor slab is around 1.6 meters in the
high-rise area and can be used as a storagebuffer mass for geothermal entries.
Structure
The structure
78
consists
of
a
reinforced
concrete structure with a bracing core,
walls, lat ceilings without linings and
support. The loads run perpendicular to the
foundation without any displacement. The
only supporting elements are the outer walls,
the partition walls and the reinforcing walls of
around the core.
Residential walls are planned as lightweight
construction walls, which means that the
residential building in the planning phase
and in the long term is very lexible.
Reinforcement and cores
The core of the tower is formed by an inner
part in the area of stairs and lifts along with
an outer shell. The outer shell is comprised of
a circulating wall in the development. In the
upper half of the project, the outer core shell
3.2 THE PLOT 3 PROJECT STRUCTURE
CORE AND FLOORS
SHEAR WALLS
FACADE
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
is no longer required for stiffening.
Floors
The loor construction is planned as a
steel concrete lat roof. The ceilings are
characterized by low support widths and
throughout with an economically feasible
strength of 20 cm. Due to the high number
of repetitions of ceilings and walls, the use
of large area form-work paving is possible in
order to optimize the work-low, meanwhile
making the most of the available abilities. In
the loors below the rising tower, the use of
semi-inished parts is a possible alternative.
Facade
The facade is composed of reinforced
concrete walls with ETICS dark grey plastered,
and a mineral wool system.
The appearance is characterized by balcony
bands (white cement concrete parts and
broken white powder coated perforated
sheet metal) with differentiated railings and
greening as an ecological and climatic
effect design element.
Up to the height of the accustomed urban
eaves the buildings are strongly horizontally
structured, the parapets are more massive
and dense with white cement concrete
parts and broken white powder-coated
perforated plate inserts in the lower region.
The apartment divisions on the balcony
are designed as high-rise planting trays,
evergreen climbing plants ensure the
separation and cover the undersides of the
balcony bands.
In the upper part of the high-rise building,
the design of the anti-fall device is lat and
light. The material is white powder coated
perforated plate and glass inserts in the
lower area).
80
Structure of roof / Roof
The inal loor is planned as a steel concrete
lat roof. The roof construction is suitable for
use and greening. The warm roof will be
comprised of EPS plus bituminous where
necessary. It will be roughness-proof,
waterproof and have internal drainage in
the area of individual housing shafts.
Windows
Windows will be made of wood-aluminum
with triple-glazed heat-proof glazing, cover
plates
and powder-coated anthracite.
Ground loor facades, portals mullion and
transom construction, massive panes of
ventilated construction pre-bearing STBpanels or insulated metal panels integrated
in PR construction.
Sun protection will be solved by projecting
balconies and loggias (reinforced concrete
parts,
thermally
separated).
Where
necessary, inside are provided high-relective
screen roller. Is also considered the possibility
to have a preparation for installation of
external screens (in the high-rise wind-proof
Zip-System) in upper loor extensions of the
windows.
Surface inishes
The inish will be large format light grey inplace concrete slabs with perforated light
grey in-place concrete slabs and wooden
decks of Robinia.
3.2 THE PLOT 3 PROJECT STRUCTURE
9th TO 21st FLOOR
STRUCTURAL PLAN
8th FLOOR
STRUCTURAL PLAN
1st TO 7th FLOOR
STRUCTURAL PLAN
81
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.3
LESSONS FROM THE TALL WOOD
EXAMPLES
The irst part of the research aimed to
understand the structural scheme of most of
the realized and on going Tall Wood buildings.
The main goal of this section is deine the
best wood structural system for the Alles Wird
Gut tower considering the existing Tall wood
examples.
Plan surface
The project tower is 73 meters tall, the larger
part (from 1 to 7th story) will be around 1200 m2,
while the main part will be around 1000 m2.
If we compare these dimensions with the other
Tall wood projects analysed, it will appear that
only Hoho Tower has a bigger footprint. But
Hoho Tower is composed by 3 parts, each with
different heights and only a small one, with an
area of 450 m2, is reaching 84 meters, which are
less than half of the Alles Wird Gut tower part.
The other buildings that are following are
around 800 m2, all of them with a rectangular
shape (except for Origine Condos, that is not
exactly the shape of the design project).
There are then no clearly similar examples to
related the structure of Alles Wird Gut project
with. The project we want to transform in timber
structure has the greatest surface respect
the Tall wood examples researched which is
already a challenging problem to solve.
Spans
The maximum span that the competition
project has, is 10 meters.
A Panel structural systems does not seem a
reasonable structural solution because irst of all
a panel system solution above 10 storeys does
not exist and secondly the distance between
some walls in the Competition project are
more than the economical limit of 3,20 meters
that wood producer companies gave for a
economical slab.
82
Therefore the Thesis project will need a
Post&beams structural scheme (Mass Timber or
Hybrid) in order to make the distance between
the loor system supports as small as possible.
The following aim is understand what is it the
best Post&beam solution between Mass Timber
solution or Hybrid solution.
Ones again, the Hoho tower seems similar in
the design tower characteristics.
The Hoho tower has 2 concrete cores located
in the centre of the 3 divided building with an
average span of 6,5 meters.
Framework project and the Life Cycle Tower
have even better spans, both around 8 meters.
The other projects solve the span problem in
other ways. UBC Brock Commons has a ixed
grid of 2,60 x 2,60 meters, while TREET and
Mjøstårnet uses a different Post&Beams
approach, which is dificult to imagine in the
plan of the Competition Project.
The multi-angular plan of the Competition
project also does compare with other plans:
they are, too small in comparison.
Hoho Tower, Framework and Life Cycle Tower
The 3 possible projects which are then
comparable in terms of surface and span are
Hoho Tower, Framework and the Life Cycle
Tower. The Post&beams scheme of these
project is similar: all of them have a punctual
system in behind a prefabricated facade,
which is connected directly to the main core.
Hoho Technical solutions
The technical solution of Hoho tower is based
on a concrete core that support a concrete
bending beam with hybrid Mass Timber and
pre-fabricated core slabs.
The use of the concrete beam in the perimeter
of the facade will be not a correct solution
for the irregular facade and the loggias of
3.3 LESSONS FROM THE TALL WOOD EXAMPLES
SINGLE FLOOR SURFACE
1 270 m2
1200 m²
900 m2
880 m2
8m
8m
840 m2
FLOOR SPAN
10 m
8m
6,5 m
CENTRAL CORE - AREA
230 m2
210 m2
200 m2
180 m2
160 m2
83
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
the Competition project. The concrete beam
will also need to support the terraces and the
prefabricated facade and therefore has to be
designed in a different way.
Regarding the slabs system of HoHo, the
solution of a prefabricated loor is optimal if it is
possible to regularize the plan scheme.
The core of the competition project has to
be re-designed in order to have a maximum
of 8 meters distance between the core and
the columns in the facade. It seems therefore
necessary to consider the core not only
comprehending the stairs and elevator shafts,
but also in regards to the entire corridor.
Framework Technical solutions
Framework’s system is based on a combination
between glulam column + glulam beam that
work together to contrast the forces. The span
is 8 meters and the beams are only in one
direction reaching the wood core.
The column-beam-loor system could be a
dificult problem where are the Loggias. The
Framework system is also made for a regular
plan and the offsets of the Competition plans
need to modify the general concept of the
Framework system while maintaining the
column-beam connection.
The core of the project is also interesting. It is
the only project on the short list that propose
a CLT core Even if the original core is made for
a rectangular shape, the overall approach
could be applied also to the irregular core of
the competition project.
Life Cycle Tower Technical solutions
The structure is a Hybrid glulam beams under
reinforced concrete slab. The building is highly
prefabricated.
The double columns systems which are
connected to a prefabricated concrete-
84
glulam beam loor, permit a lexible approach
for the loggias’ offset of the competition
project.
This solution could be the most appropriate
option, provided the core can be modiied in
order to have ixed distances and the double
column scheme can also make use of ixed
distances.
Hoho Tower, Framework or Life Cycle Tower ?
From the previous technical analysis we saw
that there is no a singular right solution. Every
project has it own pros and cons.
Anyway, the Life Cycle Tower seems the most
adequate one in terms of structural concept.
The highly prefabrication approach could
be used also in the Mass Timber structure we
are developing, only if there will be ixed and
overall regular distances.
3.3 LESSONS FROM THE TALL WOOD EXAMPLES
Figure 57: Framework Gravity Load system
Figure 58: Life Cycle Tower One Gravity Load system
n
o
u
u
I .� I
Figure 59: Framework Lateral Load system - Model view
Figure 60: Hoho Vienna tower model
85
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.4
STRUCTURAL DESIGN
On the basis of all the previous discussions
Life Cycle Tower system was chosen as main
developable design, keeping Hoho tower and
Framework for other characteristics.
The primary plus point of Life Cycle tower
solution is the possibility to have an adaptable
system which allows to have some backward
movement along the facade.
It is also possible to have a smaller loor to loor
height, along with an empty space created
by the beams for mechanical installations,
sprinkler systems and an air layer to improve the
acoustic.
Before develop the entire structure of the Thesis
project, was created a structural concept
where all the feedbacks, considerations and
ideas were put in a common solution.
The Plot 3 Project has a 8,5 meters span
meanwhile the biggest loor span from the
examples analysed is not bigger than 8 meters.
For this reason there was the need to reduce the
span. This brought to redeine the core along
the perimeter walls of the apartment (and not
of the corridor as it was for the concrete one).
In this way was also possible consider only
one raw of columns directly connected to
the main core. Another necessity was to have
an adaptable system which allows 2 types of
loors: one until the column in order to form a
loggia, another with 1 meter span more.
The core
Up to 22nd Floor
Up to 8th Floor
Mass
TImber
Core
Hybrid Post&Beam structure
Floor Type “A”
Hybrid Post&Beam structure
Post&Beam structure
Concrete
Core
Ground Floor
Floor Type “B”
Figure 61: Structural Scheme of the 2 Floor Types
A post&beams structure uses columns and
beams to support the gravity loads (both
structural and non-structural loads such as
people, furniture etc.).
Therefore it is necessary to understand where,
how many, with what distance between the
elements and with what span the structural
elements (columns and beams) need to relate
with.
86
Podium Level
2 Floors
Today does not exist a Mass Timber core of 21
storeys. It will exist in 2018 a 18 storeys Mass Timber
core thanks to the realization of Mjøstårnet
tower but the structural system approach
is not the same of the one we considered
(we do not want diagonal beams to stiff the
entire structure).
The comparable one it is the Framework core
which is 13 storeys high.
The Thesis project aims to design a feasible
structural approach so it was preferable not
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Hoho Vienna
Tower
(Building Code
and Post&beam
structure)
Framework
(Mass Timber
Core)
Port Living
(Hybrid Core)
LCT One
(Prefabricated
system
and hybrid
Post&beam
structure)
Floor Type “A”
Framework
(Post&beam
structure)
1.7
2.1
2.1
2.6
2.1
b
2.1
a
2.6
2.6
2.6
a
2.6
4.2
4.2
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
b
2.6
2.1
2.1
1.7
2.1
2.1
2.3
2.3
Floor Type “B”
8.4
8.4
7.4
7.4
Figure 62: Structural plan generation scheme
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
88
consider too much dificult solutions.
What is possible is the Port Living solution.
Port Living core has a 19 storeys hybrid core,
half concrete and half hybrid Mass Timber
and steel. Considering the core of the Thesis
building formed by a concrete podium and
a Mass Timber part seemed then the best
feasible approach possible.
The Mass Timber core proposed by the
structural concept is based on Framework
core, a combined core formed by glulam
columns supporting the beams and CLT
panels in-between the glulam columns.
The concept core instead do not have
the earthquake elastic elements which
are necessary in a earthquake area as the
Framework one. There are instead steel
beams which help both to stiff the core also
for the construction phases and to guide
the CLT panels in the space in-between the
columns. The steel beams are placed only
when also the gravity system (loors and
columns) is placed.
Structural Grid
The main core of the Project building has
became bigger than the competition project
core and now is the entire perimeter walls of
the corridor.
The 1,5 meter distance between columns
of LCT Tower is too small. In Framework the
average is exactly 2,9 meters and considering
a normal depth of the loor at 30 cm plus the
40 cm of the beams the comparison seems
possible. The aspect to consider is the choice
of the beams: if it will be a hybrid solution
glulam+steel, it could be possible have an
even smaller beam.
In order to have a small section of the loor, the
building has a grid of columns which have a
distance between 2,5 and 2,9 meters with some
particular point where the loor is not regular.
The facade is not always structural. When the
facade is attached to the columns line it is
structural and helps stiffening the tower. When
the facade is not attached, does not have any
structural role and it could be completely glass.
Overview
The structure consists of a Hybrid Post&beam
structure composed by a single line of double
columns (25x50 cm each) connected to the
building core through double glulam beams.
Hybrid glulam+steel beams are used in the
Mass Timber core to keep the Mass Timber walls
uniied.
The mixed concrete and wood concrete
composite loors are located between the
beams, and will be a maximum size of 2,8 m x
8,5 meters.
The structural facade is wood composed and
consists of prefabricated modules.
The parts are thought as highly prefabricated
elements mounted in a speciic order to
achieve stiffness to the overall structure.
Gravity Load System
The loor system consists on an hybrid solution of
glulam beams with a in-between double layer
composed by concrete and wood concrete
composed material.
The solution is mixed in order to the keep the
solution relatively cheap, one of the main goal
of the Mass Timber structure.
Because of the distance between the columns
is small, the irst concrete part will be 8 cm thick
and the second will be 5 cm thick.
The prefabricated loors will be attached to
the main beams in order to save space and
create a continuous system. The way they
are attached is clariied with the drawings:
the beams will be CNC cut in order to have a
indentation where the concrete part is linked.
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Figure 63: Axonometric view of the structural concept
89
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
This particular solution was thought because of
space savings: in the loor solution of Life Cycle
Tower the concrete is above the glulam beams,
not at the same level of the Thesis project. The
problematic behaviour will be explained later
in the speciic gravity load part.
The solutions is not only theoretical and the
ITI department is now developing already a
second row of tests on a similar type of loor.
Columns, beams and shear walls deliver the
gravity loads to the storeys below and ultimately
to the foundations.
The 8th loor and the roof of the building is also
made with mixed concrete and wood based
material assembled in prefabricated loors,
with a special inishing treatment in order to
avoid moisture and permit a enough depth
layer of ground to grow plans and small trees.
Lateral Load System
Even though a Mass Timber core for high rise
building has not yet been created in Austria,
as Hoho tower has shown (but also other
projects already realized like LCT tower or
Wagramerstrasse), the aim of the project is
to have a Mass Timber core, at least for most
of the storeys.
Beside the hybrid concrete and Mass Timber
core, the lateral load system consists also on
Mass Timber shear walls.
The shear walls are located symmetrically in
perpendicular positions respect the core and
they are of two types
- A full 7,5 meters length
- A 2 meters length
These 2 measures depends on the necessity to
have a lateral system in certain points of the
plan but at the same time the necessity for
relative lexibility of the plan.
These walls are critical to resist net building uplift
due to wind forces on the broad face of the
90
building.
The core is located in the centre of the irst part
of the building and in the south/central part
of the tower part. Until the 8th loor it consist
of prefabricated concrete 20 cm thick panels
with steel bars reaching the top.
Up to the 8th loor the core switch its material
in Mass Timber CLT panels, glulam columns
(supported by steel bars coming from the
concrete core) and hybrid steel/glulam beams.
First Floor and Substructure system
The tower stays in a podium formed by an
Underground loor, a Ground loor and a First
loor. All these loors are designed in reinforced
concrete due to competition requests and to
be able to resist high construction loads as well
as enhance the durability of the building that
will be in contact with the outside weather.
Foundation system
The foundation will be based on the same
proposed for the Alles Wird Gut competition
project.
The Mass Timber tower will be
signiicantly lighter compared to the concrete
one thus only 60 to 80 percent of the original
foundation elements will be required to support
the lighter Mass Timber tower.
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Non-structural Facade
Prefabricated terrace
Glulam Columns (2x 20x50 cm)
Structural Facade
Glulam Beam (2x 35x25 cm)
Concrete Floor
Wood based Floor
Multifunctional panel
Figure 64: Axonometric section of the structure concept
91
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
2.3
STRUCTURAL PLANS
4.2
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.1
2.6
2.1
2.1
1.7
2.1
3.4.1
8.4
7.4
0
2ND TO 7TH FLOOR
92
5
10
4.2
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.1
2.6
2.1
2.1
1.7
2.1
2.3
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
8.4
7.4
9TH TO 21ST FLOOR PLAN
0
5
10
93
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
GRAVITY RESISTING SYSTEM
Span length and Columns
The Competition project has a loor span of 10
meter from the small inner core, to the loading
facade.
This span was considered too much even for a
hybrid solution and therefore 2 solutions were
introduced to the Thesis project:
- A interior row of columns;
- Offset the main core moved in the perimeter
walls between the interior corridor and the lats.
This solutions will guarantee 8,5 maximum span.
Interior row of columns
The columns break the span and bring the
length of the beams to 8,5 meters.
The main problem with introducing a system of
columns to a tall wood structure is the following:
interior columns take gravity loads away from
the primary shear wall core at the centre of
the building. This increases the net uplift due to
wind which is the controlling design condition
for the lateral resisting system.
For this reason it is possible to believe that core,
columns and shear walls will be not enough to
stiff the building and for this reason an additional
strategy was added: the structural facade.
The role of the structural facade will be to stiff
part of the vertical facade in order to work
together with the loor and columns elements.
94
2.6
2.1
2.6
2.1
2.1
1.7
2.1
2.3
Offset Core
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
2.6
8,5 m
10 m
2.6
2.6
Consideration about Floor system
The loor system is one of the main aspect in
the deinition of a structural system. Regarding
percentage of material in a high rise building,
70% of it is the total loor material required. It
seems clear that an economical loor system
will strongly inluence the overall cost of the
structure. The Competition project consists of
a 20 cm thick reinforced concrete lat plate:
a successful design will use the same or less
amount of material.
4.2
3.4.2
8.4
7.4
The core of the Competition project was not
compatible anymore with a column system
and a small span strategy for loors. This is
why the best option seemed to be switching
the main core with an offset operation to
the perimeter walls of the lats. This operation
needed a modiication in the conjunction
between the 3 main walls creating 2 cavities
useful for installations (or for possible additional
storage rooms). Because of the 2 types of loor,
the longest span will be 8.5 but the smaller one
will be 7,5.
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Floor panels and column spacing
As we said before, small span for wooden loor
is necessary to limit the cost of the structure.
The hybrid solution chosen will guarantee a
certain level of cost competitiveness but the
loor has to also consider the distance between
columns.
The plans of the competition project are based
on the ixed modules 2,4, 2,9 and 3,6 meter
regarding small and big bedrooms and living
room minimum depth, requirements according
to the Austrian building Code regulations. It
was chosen a not ixed grid of column, but 2
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Figure 65: Axonometric view of the Gravity Resisting system (included the core)
95
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
main distances from column-to-column which
are 3,1meter and 2.6 meter.
In reality, these are not the same distances
also for the loor, because the column are
linked with the beams at the same level of
the loors, therefore the maximal length span
is around 2,6 meter, which will guarantee an
even smaller depth of the structural loor and
cheaper solution.
Floor-to-loor height modiication
If the proposed system will create a competitive
loor, it will be necessary to modify the loor-toloor height of all of the loors from 2,8 meter to
3 meters.
Both the main researches regarding a
comparison concrete benchmark building and
tall wood building underlined the necessity for
the Mass Timber structures to have higher loorto-loor height.
Beside this it is obvious most of the time that the
adoption of a different structural system, from a
lat plate of the concrete Competition project
to the post&beam one of the Thesis project will
introduce beams that will carry the main load.
The beams will have a 8,5 meter span with
a section of 35x35 cm. Considering 10 cm
of inishing loor level and a lower layer for
acoustic and gypsum suspended ceiling, the
overall section of the building will pass from 36
cm to 48 cm. In order to guarantee the same
loor to loor height, was then necessary to
bring the overall height up to 3 meters per loor.
A special case is given by the intermediate 8th
loor. In these case, going deep in the detailing
of the section, it was necessary bring the loorto-loor height from 2,8 meters to 3,5 meters. This
necessity came from the insulation thickness
that will be for sure thicker in comparison with
the normal one.
96
Connection of the beams with concrete
Figure 66: The connection glulam-concrete explained.
The connection of the concrete and the
beams had to be designed in a different way
respect Life Cycle Tower. LCT loor system uses
glulam beams and a concrete layer which is
above (not in-between the Thesis one).
In the Thesis project the concrete layer is in the
same line of the beams and a simple nailed
solution like LCT could not be possible.
It was therefore necessary make some
considerations in terms of material behaviour
under the action of the gravity forces.
The problem is explained with the scheme
above. We can see that under the gravity
forces, the 2 different materials will behave too
different regarding their physical characteristic
and they will tend to slip one on each other,
moving too much in an horizontal side.
For this reason it was chosen a combing junction
where part of the concrete goes above the
beam in order to perform together in a better
connected way to the forces inluence.
The connection type will therefore guarantee a
better level of structural behaviour.
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Figure 67: Axonometric view of the 2 loor system
Concrete layer
(10 cm)
Glulam Beam
(25x35 cm)
Wood based
material (70%)
(8 cm)
Steel connection
with the core
Hardwood support
(5x3 cm)
Multifunctional
Panel
(5 cm)
Figure 68: Axonometric view of loor system - Detailed view
97
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
Gravity system combination process
Prefabrication is one of the key aspect of a
Mass Timber building. Also in Thesis elements are
thought to be prefabricated but prefabrication
concept brings to combination of the elements
concept.
Prefabrication in fact is not enough. A successful
design consider also how the elements are
combined together in order to realized quicker
and simpler the building.
The combination process of the gravity system
is here explained.
Starting from the position of the columns, the
building process follows the combination of the
columns with the loors and than again with the
connection column-to-column.
Connection elements are also a key aspect in
Mass Timber building. The type and behaviour
of the connection can inluence the entire
building. The proposed steel connection is
consisting in a combination of steel plates
(vertical and horizontal) which will be nailed to
both the columns and the prefabricated loor
and will connect also column and column as
showed in the step 5.
The steel plate of the under column will remain
outside the loor system and will allow to nail
that part to the upcoming upper columns in
order to have a system which is working all
together.
1. GLULAM COLUMN
The irst element of the gravity load system is composed by a
column 25 x 50 cm with already the steel connection attached.
4. 1ST TYPE FLOOR CONNECTION
The irst type of loor is connected to the column through the
glulam beam and the steel plate of the columns.
98
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
2. 2ND GLULAM COLUMN
3. FINAL GLULAM COLUMN - CONNECTION
The real punctual system is composed by 2 glulam connected
which form a 50 x 50 cm column.
The combination of the 2 glulam columns form also the
connection system for the loor and the other column above.
5. 2ND TYPE FLOOR CONNECTION
6. UPPER COLUMN CONNECTION
The second type of loor is connected in its inal part always
through the glulam beam and the steel plate which remains out
in order to connect the upcoming column.
The upper column will be connected to the entire below system
through the steel plate. The same process is applied to the entire
gravity system.
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.4.3
GRAVITY RESISTING SYSTEM - TESTS
While the Thesis was been developed the
ITI (Institut für Architekturwissenschaften
Tragwerksplanung und Ingenieurholzbau)
department of TU Wien with prof. W. Winter as
head of department, was testing some loor
systems of a similar composition to the one in
the Thesis project.
The main difference between the loor system
tested and the loor system of the Thesis project
is the type of beam used. Instead of glulam
beams, the tested loor adopt LVL beams, with
a smaller section.
Type of testing
The irst type of testing was made on 2 types
of different loors: one loor system composed
was composed of concrete, 70% wood based
material and LVL beams (Type 1) while the
other was composed of concrete, 70% wood
material and CLT loor panels (Type 2).
The CLT loor (different sections were tested),
has a thicker section (both concrete and CLT
layers are thicker than the ones in the LVL loor).
The reason for this testing is that the TU University
is involved in the development of Hoho Tower.
Type 2 performs well from a structural point of
view, but is too thick in comparison with a beam
loor type. This is why it was not considered a
possible solution for the Thesis project.
Figure 69: The type 2 loor tested with the CLT layer
Type 1 loor solution
The LVL loor solution has 8 cm concrete loor,
5 cm, 70% wood based material and 2 LVL
beams (32cm high an 4cm thick).
Thoma Holz 100
The tests were made in the laboratories of TU
Wien and they were overall satisfactory. There
was only one point in the inal part of the
beam which performed poorly. The solution of
reinforcing that part with two nails resulted in a
much better performance when tested.
Figure 70: The wet concrete layer with the formworks still on
100
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Figure 71: The type 1 loor tested
Thoma Holz 100
Figure 72: The type 1 loor prepared to be tested
5
Thoma Holz 100
Figure 73: The type 1 loor after the test phase
3
1
Figure 74: Several type 1 loor system tested
101
Thoma Holz 100
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
Considerations regarding the tests
The irst series of tests proved that the loor
system with the LVL is feasible. The beams of the
Thesis project are 35 cm high and 25 cm thick
meanwhile the LVL section is 32x4 cm.
With this data, we can conidently conclude
that the structural behaviour of the loor system
in the thesis (which has ticker concrete layers
and thicker glulam beams) will perform well.
However speciic tests still need to be done to
prove it deinitely.
LVL vs Glulam
For testing, LVL beams were preferred because
their shear stiffness outperformed the glulam
beams.
With LVL it is possible to pay per cubic meter
for sizes between 20 to 75 mm because it is
composed of 3mm ply-wood layers. Glulam has
the board in the opposite way and normally it is
impossible go slender as the LVL beam. Glulam
places the boards in the opposite direction
and it is normally not possible to be as slander
as the LVL beams.
LVL is a relatively new technology and is just
now starting to be interesting to the European
market. Indeed there are not many projects
especially which adopt this particular solution.
Some years ago LVL in Europe was produced
only by Kerto, a Finnish company. Now there
are 3 producers and they compete with each
other to decrease the cost of LVL beams from
750 € to 550 € /cubic meter, against an average
prize of 400 € /cubic meter of glulam. If you
look at LVL‘s resistance it takes 50 N (Newton)/
square mm and glulam 35 N. The problem
of LVL is ire. With glulam the sacriice layer is
made also of glulam, meaning the cost is the
same. However LVL is too expensive to use as
sacriice layer so it will be necessary to consider
all of the ways it can be protected.
00
102
Figure 75: The additional nails inserted in the second round of tests
4
Figure 76: The effects of the second round of tests
Thoma Holz 100
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Figure 77: The crack of the beam
Thoma Holz Figure
100 78: The crack of the beam
oma Holz 100
Figure 79: Type 3 loor with glulam beams prepared for the concrete layer
Thoma Holz 100
7
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.4.4
LATERAL LOAD RESISTING SYSTEM
Lateral Loads forces are wind and
earthquakes waves.
The area of Vienna does not need
earthquake requirements because is not an
earthquake area. This means that wind is the
main lateral force to resist for the project.
The main aspects to consider a lateral load
system are system strength, system stiffness
and the net uplift. Together with these
aspects follow also the projects and building
regulations aspects.
System choice
What emerged from the research analysis of
the main Tall Wood buildings is that the core
(concrete or wood) is never enough and
must always be supported by another lateral
system (diagonal beams, shear walls).
The Total surface area (per loor) with a
central core of the Competition project is
the greatest of the chart and made it clear
that even a big core could be not enough to
resist properly for the wind loads.
System strength
The system as a whole and each individual
component must be strong enough to resist
the necessary loads. In tall buildings using
a core wall lateral system, the most dificult
part is to design a link beams which couple
the movements of individual wall panels.
The Core
The core is where all the lateral forces are
driven and thought it they are transmitted to
the foundation system.
For several structural considerations explained
before, it is right to consider the core of the
Thesis building as an hybrid solution between
a irst part (Underground to 8th loor) made
out of prefabricated concrete panels, and
a second part made out of a combination
of glulam columns, CLT panels, glulam+steel
beams and vertical steel elements.
System stiffness
The system has to be stiff enough so that
cladding and elevator are serviceable.
As we saw in the Part 1 of this work (page 20 Challenges for Tall Wood), stiffness is the main
structural goal a Mass Timber structure has to
aim. Due to the lightness of Mass Timber in
fact, several right choices have to be made.
Net uplift
Net uplift occurs when the lateral load
overturning forces overcome the gravity
dead load forces of the building. This
causes the building to lift up and places
the vertical elements in tension. Net uplift
is more avoidable in a concrete building
due to additional material weight. A critical
point is the bottom of the core if it is not rigid
enough. The choice to make the bottom of
the core (or the entire core) will help to avoid
the uplift risk.
104
Concrete Core (Underground to 8th loor)
The irst part of the core will be in prefabricated
concrete. Prefabricated concrete as written
previously has several advantages.
This part of the core is composed by 3
elements: two 5 cm thick panels linked with a
steel grid will be positioned in the building site
and then liquid concrete will be than versed.
The section will be than 5 cm + 20 cm + 5 cm
for a total of 30 cm structural core.
For the loor of the concrete core is
considered again a prefabricated loor
panel, composed only with a layer of 5 cm
concrete panel with a steel grid but without
the last layer of 5 cm. There will be inserted
an addition steel grid which links the loor
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Figure 80: Axonometric view of the core of the building
105
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
to the vertical walls and than a inal liquid
concrete layer will be put and inished.
The Mass Timber Core
The Mass Timber core of the upper part of
the project is based on the Framework one
with some adjustments.
The main idea is to have a glulam column
which is connected to the beam of the
loor system. The glulam column of the core
is thought as 15m high: this is because of
the will to have a 5 storeys core height for
construction phase. The columns will be
supported by 2 steel vertical columns in that
are connected to CLT panels with size of 16
m x 3,5 m (maximum) x 20 cm thick.
The construction of the Mass Timber core will
be composed by a irst positioning of the
CLT panels along the vertical steel beams,
than the glulam columns will complete the
5 storeys high part and than for every loor
concluded by 2 row of hybrid glulam+steel
beams which will run along the perimeter
of the Mass timber core, both inside and
outside the walls.
The loor in the Mass Timber core will be a
14cm CLT loor panel with a variable length
and an average depth of 1,5 m with a
concrete layer above which add weight to
the core.
The original core of the Competition
project (the part of the building with stairs
and elevator shafts) will help to the overall
stabilization of the building but it can not be
considerate a core.
It will be composed of 12 cm CLT panels with
2 gypsum boards layer (on both sides) which
will rise the REI resistance of this part, where
all the safe exits are located.
106
Vienna Building code considerations
It is important to state that a simple and
effective choice based on what is already
realized could be simply consider the core
as fully concrete. The case of Hoho tower
in Vienna prove that Vienna building code
will not allow a Mass Timber core. For this
reasons it is possible to say that if this building
will be realized in Vienna today, it will have
a complete concrete core. But this does
not mean that the building does not have
a safe Mass Timber Core. The Mass Timber
part are thought to be fully encapsulated in
order to have not Mass Timber part exposed.
In general 1 layer of gypsum board will be
enough but several projects adopts 2 layer
of gypsum-boards.
Building construction considerations
The concrete part is thought as built at once.
The prefabricated walls will arrive in the
building site after the completion of the
underground and ground loor which are
part in common of the rest of the urban
development. The concrete core once
concluded, will be used already to mount
and transport materials.
Good examples of this are the building
process of UBC Brock Commons and Life
Cycle Tower.
Both the projects realized at irst the entire
core and than builders used it to complete
the rest of the prefabricated parts.
A general disadvantage of a concrete core
is the necessity of two stages of scaffoldings:
one for the concrete core, one for the Mass
Timber parts.
The advantage showed by the Mass Timber
building, instead is usually a partial realization
of the building of a loor-per-loor realization
of it which reduces signiicantly the cost and
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
PHASE 1 - CONCRETE CORE
PHASE 2 - MASS TIMBER COLUMNS
The prefabricated concrete core will be realized until the 9th
loor
The irst part of the Mass Timber core is composed by the glulam
columns (15 m height) and the steel bars which helps for the
structural resistance. The steel bars will be inserted also into the
concrtete core.
PHASE 3 - MASS TIMBER CLT WALLS
PHASE 4 - HYBRID STEEL-GLULAM BEAMS
The role of the steel bars is also be a guideline for the CLT walls
which will be inserted in a second moment to stiff more the Mass
Timber Core. The CLT walls will have already the hole for the
door cut.
To inally stiff the entire system will be necessary an hybrid
solution of steel-glulam double row of beams along every loor.
The glulam will provide mechanical support and ire protection
for the steel beam.
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
makes more quickly the realization of the
building.
Shear Walls
What help instead is the strong symmetry
of the plan in the basement part (1st to 7th
loor).
For structural necessities and lexibility choices,
2 type of shear walls were introduced:
Shear wall 1
7m x 2,5m x 25cm(total with insulation and
gypsum boards included) thick.
In the bottom part of the building there are
3 shear walls on the west side and 2 on the
east side positioned in a symmetrical way.
From the 8th loor, the number remain the
same but the south shear wall became the
facade of the upper south part.
This is the greatest change there is with the
competition project and is due the necessary
stiffness required for the 13-storeys tower part.
These shear walls then, connected directly to
the Mass Timber core can provide complete
rigidity of one facade.
The role played by these walls is not only
structural nut also they create an effective
ire compartments as required.
Shear wall 2
2,3m x2,5m x 20cm thick.
Beside the 5 big shear walls 1, there are
other 4 smaller shear walls 2 which provide
continuity up to the last loor.
The necessity is to guarantee a constant
continuity along the 3 different parts of
the building and also to reinforce the Mass
Timber core.
108
Structural Facade
The last elements which help with the stiffness
of the building are the facade in the loggia
parts of the project.
In order to have a continuous vertical system,
less wide than the shear wall in the facade
but anyway necessary, it was thought to
consider the part of the facade in direct
contact with the structural columns as also
structural part.
The result is a prefabricated facade which
can arrive already mounted in the building
site, saving time and guaranteeing a high
level of precision.
The prefabricated facade is composed
by a 14 cm thick CLT panel with a already
mounted window (2,1 m height - 2 m lenght)
with a 10 cm insulation layer and other 6 cm
additional layer for ventilaed facade cavity
and wood cladding.
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
STRUCTURAL FACADE - EXTERNAL VIEW
The structural facade is prefabricated in a factory, therefore
will arrive with all the possible elements already mounted.
In particular the CLT walls will be connected to the 2 columns
in front of them in order to form already a continuous system
for the force transmission.
STRUCTURAL FACADE - INTERNAL VIEW
In the internal part could be possible already locate the
gypsum board of the internal inishes. The columns instead
will remain exposed. The connection to the loor system is not
only through the columns, but also through the bottom part
of the wall with the window, which will be connected to the
concrete part of the loor.
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.4.5
STRUCTURAL MATERIALS
Floor panels
The loor panels are prefabricated loors
composed by two glulam beams attached
to a layer of prefabricated concrete and a
second layer of wood based material.
This combination is the result of several thoughts
regarding cost competitiveness, thermal and
acoustical performances and because is a
known solution in ITI department.
Columns
The columns are designed as structurally glulam
elements. They are 2 glulam columns which are
connected together. The primary requirements
for the columns are high axial strength and
stiffness which is good provided by these type
of Mass Timber Product. Particular attention has
to be given to the steel connection which links
the 2 glulam columns, the loors and the upper
glulam columns connection.
Shear walls
The shear walls are designed in CLT. The walls
need dimensional stability along their length
which is provided by the CLT build up of
alternating ply orientations.
The primary demands of the walls are axial
compression, in-plane bending and in-plane
shear. The axial stiffness is the key-necessity
because the axial stiffness of the individual
shear walls contributes, to most of the overall
building movements due to wind loads.
For this reason the walls have been built up
using 3 ply CLT panels with the grains primarily
oriented vertically.
Concrete core panels
The concrete used in the core of the irst 8 loors
of project is composed of prefabricated walls.
The choice of prefabricated panels is due the
several advantages of this solution, it needs
110
less time for realization, it is cheaper and it has
a better precision of the elements, which are
fundamental characteristics in a prefabricate
building. It consists on two 5 cm thick panels
with a steel grid which keeps the 2 panel with a
distance of 20 cm. In the space in-between will
be poured liquid concrete.
Mass Timber wood core panels
From the 9th to the 22th loor the core is formed
by a combination of vertical 5 storeys glulam
columns, horizontal hybrid glulam+ steel beams
and CLT panels. Like for the shear walls, the use
of CLT is mainly for its stiffness properties and
also for the possibility to have a maximum of
16 meters long panel that will allow a rapidly 5
storeys erection.
Steel Glulam beams
To keep the core uniied it has been chosen
the TU Wien ITI Department research hybrid
glulam+steel beam. The section chosen is
36 cm height and 17 cm depth. It consists on
a steel beam, protected and performance
helped by 2 glulam beams cut.
Prefabricated facade
The facade is composed by 2 type of
prefabricated facade. The irst type is located
where there is a loggia and has incorporated
2 glulam columns, it has structural behaviour
and provide vertical stiffness. This facade is
prefabricated and it is composed by a CLT
14 cm thick panel, a insulation layer and a
cladding system easily mountable. There are 2
different type of facade due the necessity to
provide stiffness to the glulam columns grid.
The other type of facade is not in direct contact
with the columns and does not have structural
role. For this reason is highly glass composed
and has the characteristic of a curtain wall.
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Figure 81: Velux- wood based material: 70% wood and 30% concrete.
Figure 82: Schematic realization of the prefabricated concrete core.
Figure 83: Example of ERNE prefabricated concrete + glulam beams loors.
111
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.4.6
THE APPLICATION OF THE STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS
Apply the Structural concept was not
immediate and there were several step back
in order to arrange all the building elements.
These 2 images shows the possible horizontal
section in the building construction process
of the building where the bottom part is
completed and the tower part is on going.
The general structural plan will be with all the
gravity and lateral system elements exposed
with the columns waiting the next loor system
to be placed.
Figure 84: Perspective view of the structure
112
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
113
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
114
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
Figure 85: Perspective view of the structure - The shear /facade part
115
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
Figure 86, 87: Perspective section of the structure, general and detailed
116
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
117
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.4.7
STRUCTURAL CONSIDERATIONS RELATED TO FIRE
The main questions regarding ire were:
what is allowed by current buildings codes?
What is required to satisfy those codes?
How is performance based design and ire
engineering currently used, and what are
the opportunities for these approaches in tall
wood structure?
Austrian Building Code
Building a Tall wood is possible in Austria. The
case of Hoho Tower (that at the time of this
Thesis is under construction) simpliies the
topic. The main difference between Hoho
tower and the Thesis project is the core:
Hoho Tower has a 24 storeys core totally in
concrete, the Thesis project core is around
one-third concrete and two-third Mass
Timber.
Another difference is the ire strategy.
Hoho Tower will use a charring approach
meanwhile the Thesis project will opt for a
partial encapsulation of the ceiling, leaving
the columns and the beams exposed.
Encapsulation
To achieve a full grade of safety in Mass
Timber structures the best option is consider
a full encapsulation of the structure.
As we saw in the chapter 1.4 Challenges for
Tall Wood, there are several possible grade
of encapsulation which will guarantee a
certain level of ire safety.
Beside the glulam beams, the loor system
adopted is provided with a wood-concrete
material which it will be not visible form the
interior lat because covered by a layer
of air space and a 5 cm panel for heating
and acoustic. The loor therefore will be
encapsulated.
Also the shear walls of the lats are designed
to be encapsulated. Beside the architectural
118
choice, there is also the necessity to create
ire compartment in the building. For this
reason the shear walls, which are disposed in
a regular distance between each other, will
have the role not only of lat separation, but
also as ire compartment walls.
Charring approach
The element that will be exposed are the
glulam columns and the glulam beams.
The double columns are 50cm x 25cm
each, so they will form a unique column of
50x50cm. The span, the distances between
column and the characteristics of the glulam
material can maybe guarantee good
performance also with a different section
(40cm x 20 cm each).
In this order was consider to design the
columns with an extra 10 cm layer in order to
guarantee a REI90 ire resistance level.
The same consideration was made for the
glulam beams of the loor system.
Oversize the beams section will guarantee
again REI90 ire resistance and will allow
beams and columns to be exposed inside
the lat.
Fundamental care has to be taken in
the design of the steel connection. Steel
connections have to be protected by the
glulam in order to be not attached by the
ire before the time requested by law.
There are already several realized examples
which hide the steel connection element in
the column-to-column and column-to-beam
junctions.
Sprinkler system
In order to guarantee the highest defence
against ire, an automatic sprinkler system
was designed.
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
eR: 27,5 m
fZ 2
eR: 27,5 m
eR: 17,5 m
fZ 2
eR: 17,5 m
fZ 1
fZ 1
fZ 3
fZ 3
eR: 25,3 m
eR: 25,3 m
fZ 5
fZ 4
eR: 18,9 m
eR: 18,9 m
eR: 17,5 m
LegeND
LegeND
ESCAPE STAIRS
SECURITY AREA
eR: 27,5 m
fZ 4
ELEVATOR
EVACUATION ELEVATOR
MAIN ESCAPE ROUTE
FIRE ZONE
Figure 88: Fire emergency plan scheme
Sacriicial layer - Charring strategy
(10 cm )
Necessary structural section
(40 x 40 cm )
Double glulam columns
(50 x 50 cm )
Figure 89: Charring approach of the structural element
119
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.4.8
BUILDING PROCESS CONSIDERATIONS
The erection system is an effective aspect
architects have to challenge the typical
structural erection systems for concrete and
steel.
Construction
considerations,
cost
competitiveness and technology will play a
large part in determining the success of Mass
Timber as a structural material for use in highrise buildings
The construction industry already obtained
great results in prefabricated Mass Timber
house assembly but the challenges to face
high-rise Mass Timber building must still be
faced properly.
Regarding the cases studied in the research
part of the thesis, it is clear how logistics
including procuring, shipping, handling,
scheduling and managing the construction
process must precisely thought through and
carefully programmed.
Total construction cost relates to schedule,
material, labour, tolerances and required
equipment. Each of these element needs to
be developed and reined to result in a cost
competitive project.
The big challenge for architects today is
understand all these construction principles
and apply them in the detailing of the
building. Prefabrication is in fact the main
advantage of the Mass Timber Building but
only if the process and the detailing of each
of the pieces of the building are carefully
done.
The chosen construction sequence
For the thesis project was considered
a construction sequence following the
characteristics designed for gravity and
lateral loads
The main goal was to not erect entire central
core of the building. The negative aspect of
120
this choice made for example for LCT tower
or for UBC Brock Commons is not optimization
of time because a cantilever system has to
be made twice, ones for the erection of the
core, secondly for the erection of the rest of
the building.
A 21 storeys core could be even more
problematic for the context of the project.
Seeing the example of Port Living in
Vancouver, a 2 part core, concrete and
Mass timber seemed the most adequate.
In this way the primary structure formed by
the core will be built and it will control the
overall pace of construction. The secondary
trades follow behind to avoid space conlict
between operations and unions.
The construction phases
The imagined sequence to erect the building
is described graphically on the right side of
this page.
Starting from the concrete podium given
by the competition phase, the entire
prefabricated concrete core will be erected
entirely and than the shafts will be used to
complete the irst part of the building.
From the 8th loor will start the erection of the
5 -storeys Mass Timber core which again will
allows to build the irst part of the tower.
This process will take place 3 times more
and than the structure of the building will be
completed, waiting for the inishing and for
the prefabricated terraces.
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
PHASE 1 - CONCRETE CORE
PHASE 2 - STRUCTURE FIRST PART
The prefabricated concrete core will be realized after the
common underground core and ground loor.
The concrete shaft is used to easily carry up columns and
provide logistic help.
PHASE 3 - MASS TIMBER CORE PART 1
PHASE 4 - STRUCTURE SECOND PART
Only the Mass Timber walls, glulam 5-story with the steel
connectors are lifted up.
The rest of the second part of the structure is completed loorby-loor until the end of the 5 storey irst part of the Mass Timber
core.
121
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
122
PHASE 5 - MASS TIMBER CORE PART 2
PHASE 6 - STRUCTURE THIRD PART
Only the Mass Timber walls, glulam 5-story with the steel
connectors are lifted up.
The rest of the third part of the structure is completed loor-byloor until the end of the 5 storey second part of the Mass Timber
core.
PHASE 7 - MASS TIMBER CORE PART 3
PHASE 8 - STRUCTURE FORTH PART
The last part of the Mass Timber core is completed also with the
ceiling part to cover the core.
Meanwhile the last part of the structure is completed, the
architectural elements are placed in the irst part of the building.
3.4 STRUCTURAL DESIGN
PHASE 9 - STRUCTURE AND ARCHITECTURE PART COMPLETED
In order to protect the structure from the weather the architectural elements will be immediately placed. Terraces, handrail, inished
loor and walls, and green roofs will be realized.
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.5
ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
The architectural design overview
The architectural design consists mainly in
the design of middle sizes lats.
The aim of the architectural part is to match
the existing program unit types, layouts and
quantities. The design has been modiied
to adequate the lats to the new structural
system and dimensions.
The core
The core of the Competition project was
designed for a loor-to-loor height of 2,8
meters and for a different structural behaviour
in comparison to the wood one.
The main goal was to maximize the rental
area and make the corridor as eficient as
possible.
The Thesis Project is composed of a twopart core which has different building
characteristics. What they have in common
is the number of elevator shafts, the two
emergency stairs and some technical cavity.
The change in loor-to-loor height needed
to enlarge the length of the stairs with 2
additional steps.
The Mass Timber part of the core is thought
as CLT panels already provided with a
double layer gypsum covering to protect the
structure from ire and moisture.
Every CLT panel has a steel frame to connect
them to the steel bars in the core.
Encapsulation approach
Columns and beams of the structural part
are left exposed with charring method.
The other walls are designed as covered by
a layer of gypsum board.
The shear walls A, the longer, which have
the role of perimeter of ire compartment,
will have instead 2 layer of gypsum board in
order to increase the ire resistance.
124
The loor system is designed to have space
inside to locate cables and tubes for the
building system. The choice to not expose
the wood part is due 3 motifs:
1) Structural CLT panels are not made to be
exposed, therefore they are not aesthetically
treated. Some companies could provide the
last layer with better quality wood but it will
cost more, and the aim of the Thesis is to
provide feasible economical solutions
2) Structural CLT cracks. It happens for a
structural motif and is normal and well-known
but it could be possible that over time cracks
will appear in the ceiling. This could be a
problem for some people and it could cause
complaints.
3) The possible solution will be a sort of lie. As
made already in Cube Haus in Hamburg, the
ceiling could be composed of a suspended
ceiling with a wood panels in the exposed
layer. This solution creates undoubtedly
an aesthetic solution for the lat but it will
increase the loor-to-loor height, that has
been increased.
For this reason the loor was intended as a
combination of beams and suspended
ceiling which guarantee the technical
space and save space in the loor in order to
achieve 3m loor-to-loor height.
Additional architectural choices
One of the main topic of the external facade
treatment in the Competition Project was
the underlining of the Loggia cavity thanks
to another cladding material (in that case a
green mosaic cladding) that was also used
intensively in the 8th loor. The rest of the
external walls are thought as black plaster.
What could be interesting instead is the
use of wood cladding while keeping the
same differentiation between loggia cavity-
3.5 ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
Figure 90: Perspective view of the Tall Wood project in the competition context
125
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
external walls.
For the loggia cavity could be possible
to use an untreated Cedar panel, with
a light appearance. The choice to use a
incombustible material in the cladding
could be possible because a sprinkler system
is already consider in the interior building
services design and then it will be possible
have also have he exterior of the building
sprinkled. In fact, it is possible to have a Class
B combustible material in Austria if there is
a sprinkler system for the facade (ONORM
15061-1).
Exterior wall design
Figure 91: Green mosaic of the 8th external wall.
If the exterior walls in the loggia are designed
as prefabricated structural walls, the other
type of exterior are free to be designed with
the maximum glass surface possible.
The motif is due their not structural task and
due the fact they could be hanged to the
structural loor continuing after the columns
row.
The exterior walls have therefore big
openable sliding windows, they are thinner
in comparison with the Competition project,
and they have a layer of insulation where the
terraces will be attached.
Terraces
Terraces
characterize
visually
the
Competition project. They run all over the
external walls and they became bigger in
where they meet the loggia offset.
In the Competition project, terraces were
126
thought as prefabricated concrete which
will be attached to the structural facade in a
second moment.
Also in the Thesis project, they are considered
as prefabricated but made out of Mass
Timber.
The project Strandparken Hus B in Sweden
have hanging prefabricated wood terraces
which are similar to the designed ones.
Wood Cube in Hamburg has instead
attached prefabricated terraces, but they
are bigger in comparison with the Thesis
project.
These project show that prefabricated wood
terraces are possible and if the connection
and the detailing are designed well they are
not vulnerable against moisture and water.
Acoustical Considerations
Wood is not a good sound-proof material.
The loor system proposed is thought with
a layer of 8 cm of wood-concrete material
which has, beside a good acoustic resistance,
an irregular surface which increase the
acoustical behaviour.
In addition to this there is an air cavity
between the Velux material and the heating
panel where cables and wires pass but
where the sound coming from the rooms
could be mitigate.
The inishing consist in 13 cm thick additional
total layer composed by
- 3 cm acoustical insulation;
- 6,5 cm of air space created by a layer of
double pavement which guarantee space
for wires and cables
- 3,5 cm of pavement with parquet covering.
It will be necessary verify instead the sound
transmission thought the exposed beams
and in the through the beam-column
connection.
3.5 ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
TERRACE PREDISPOSITION
Both the structural and the non-structural façades are
designed to have a predisposition space to connect without
ther mical bridges the prefabricated terrace to the already
mounted facade. The yellow part indicates the insulation
layer necessary to avoid thermical dispersions.
In the Loggia part, there are some steel plates connected to
the structural facade which have the function to support the
bigger part of the terrace.
TERRACE COLLOCATION 1
TERRACE COLLOCATION 2
The prefabricated terrace is thought in 2 type: a big one
located in every loggia, and another of 80 cm large.
The hypothesis is to located the big prefabricated terrace at
irst in the relative steel connector in the structural facade.
The second type of the terrace could be located after the
big one, connected to the loor system passing though the
insulation layer of the non-structural facade.
The handrail will then be mounted and will be possible
mount another terrace.
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.5.1
128
PLANS
3.5 ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
129
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
90 m2 - 3 bedrooms
70 m2 - 2 bedrooms
0
2ND TO 7TH FLOOR
130
5
10
3.5 ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
180 m2 - Student shared lat
95 m2 - Student shared lat
35 m2 - Rentable guests lat
Sharing spaces
8TH FLOOR
0
5
10
131
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
90 m2 - 3 bedrooms
70 m2 - 2 bedrooms
110 m2 - 3 bedrooms+
9TH TO 21ST FLOOR PLAN
132
0
5
10
3.5 ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
FLEXIBILITY OF THE PLANS
The structure can guarantee a good level of lexibility. The shear walls could be considered with holes that in a second moment could
be open for other plan layout.
Original plan
Possible combinations
1st to 7th Floor
8th Floor
4.
4.
4.
9th to 21st Floor
9
9 FLOOR
FLOOR OHNE
OHNE COSE
COSE
9 FLOOR OHNE COSE
1:735.78
1:735.78
1:735.78
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.5.2
TYPICAL DETAILS
SECTION
7
13
6
12
5
11/15
4
10/14
1
3
9
8
2
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3.5 ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
1. HYBRID TIMBER FLOOR
W1
W2
F1
F1
F2
F2
F3a
F3a
F3b
F3b
F3c
F3c
F3d
F3d
W1
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor - Parquet (1,5 cm)
F2: Finish loor - Double loor with stabilizer and acoustical
insulation
F3a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F3b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F3c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F3d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
DETAIL 1:20 LOGGIA
W2
COLUMNS
W1: Glulam column1 (25 cm x 50 cm)
W2: Glulam column1 (25 cm x 50 cm
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
2. CONCRETE CORE - CONCRETE FLOOR
W1
W2a
W2b
W2a
F1
F1
F2
F3
F3
F5a
F4
F5b
F6
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor
F2: Insulation layer
F3: Screed
F4: Cast in place reinforced concrete loor
F5a: Cast in place concrete loor
F5b: Pre-cast concrete panel (5cm)
F6: Finish ceiling - gypsum board and mineral wool insulation for
sound absorption
DETAIL FACADE 1:20
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W1: Finish wall - gypsum board and insulation
W2a: Pre-cast concrete panel (5cm)
W2b: Cast in place concrete loor
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3.5 ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
3. CONCRETE CORE - HYBRID TIMBER FLOOR
W1
W2a
W2b
W2a
F1
F2
F3a
F4a
F3b
F4b
F3c
F3d
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor - Parquet (1,5 cm)
F2: Finish loor - Double loor with stabilizer and acoustical
insulation
F3a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F3b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F3c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F3d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
F4a: Cast in place concrete loor
F4a: Pre-cast concrete panel (5cm)
DETAIL 1:20 LOGGIA
WALL
W1: Finish wall - gypsum board and insulation
W2a: Pre-cast concrete panel (5cm)
W2b: Cast in place concrete loor
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4. CONCRETE CORE - GLULAM BEAM
W3
W4
F1
F2
F4a
F4b
F3
W1
W2a
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor - Parquet (1,5 cm)
F2: Finish loor - Double loor with stabilizer and acoustical
insulation
F3a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F3b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F3c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F3d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
F4a: Cast in place concrete loor
F4a: Pre-cast concrete panel (5cm)
DETAIL 1:20 LOGGIA
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W2b
W2a
WALL
W1: Finish wall - gypsum board and insulation
W2a: Pre-cast concrete panel (5cm)
W2b: Cast in place concrete loor
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3.5 ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
5. MASS TIMBER CORE - HYBRID TIMBER FLOOR
W1
W2a
W2b
W2a
F1
F4
F2
F5
F3a
F3b
F3c
F3d
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor - Parquet (1,5 cm)
F2: Finish loor - Double loor with stabilizer and acoustical
insulation
F3a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F3b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F3c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F3d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
F4a: Cast in place concrete loor
F4a: Pre-cast concrete panel (5cm)
DETAIL 1:20 LOGGIA
WALL
W1: Finish wall - gypsum board and insulation
W2a: Pre-cast concrete panel (5cm)
W2b: Cast in place concrete loor
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6. MASS TIMBER CORE - TOP FLOOR
W4
W3
F1
F2
F4a
F3a
F4b
F3b
F3c
F3d
W1
FLOOR
F1: External inish loor for green roof
DETAIL
1:20
LOGGIA
F : Finish loor
- Double
insulation layer for green roof
2
F3a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F3b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F3c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F3d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
F4a: Finish loor internal core
F4a: CLT loor panel (14 cm)
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W2
W3
WALL
W1: Finish wall - gypsum board and insulation
W2: Air space for building systems
W3: CLT Mass Timber Core wall (18 cm)
W4: External inish wall - external cladding and insulation
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3.5 ARCHITECTURAL CONSIDERATIONS
7. MASS TIMBER CORE ROOF
F1
F2
F3
W1
FLOOR
F1: External inish loor for green roof
F2: Finish loor - Double insulation layer for green roof
F3: CLT loor panel (14 cm)
DETAIL 1:20 LOGGIA
W2
W3
WALL
W1: Finish wall - External inish wall - external cladding
W2: Finish wall - Insulation
W3: CLT Mass Timber Core wall (18 cm)
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8. CONCRETE 1ST FLOOR
W1
F5
F1
F3
F2
F3
F6
F4
W1
FLOOR
F1: External inish loor for green roof
F2: Finish loor - Double insulation layer for green roof
F3: Concrete loor, ceiling of the ground loor
F4: Finish cladding
F5: Finish loor irst loor
F6: Finish claddind with acoustical insulation of the ground loor
DETAIL FACADE 1:20
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WALL
W1: External windows of the ground loor
W2: External sliding windows of the irst loor
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9. MASS TIMBER CORE ROOF
F1
F2
F3
F4
FLOOR
F1: External inish loor for green roof
F2: Finish loor - Double insulation layer for green roof
F3: Concrete loor, ceiling of the ground loor
F4: Finish cladding
DETAIL FACADE 1:20
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10. 8TH FLOOR - LOGGIA DETAIL
W1
F1
F2
F3
F3d
W1
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor Terrace
F2: Thermal insulation of the external loor
F3: Prefabricated CLT Terrace (14 cm)
F5: Pre-fabricated loor: glulam beam (35cm)
DETAIL 1:20 LOGGIA
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W1: External sliding window
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11. 9TH FLOOR - DETAIL
W1
F1
F3a
F2
F3b
F3c
F4
F3d
W1
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor Terrace
F2: Prefabricated CLT Terrace (14 cm)
F3a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F3b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F3c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F3d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
F4: Thermal insulation of the external ceiling
DETAIL 1:20 LOGGIA
WALL
W1: External sliding window
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12. 8TH FLOOR - DETAIL GREEN TERRACE
W1
F1
F4a
F2
F4b
F3
F4c
F4d
W1
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor Terrace
F2: Prefabricated CLT Terrace (14 cm)
F3: Finish ceiling terrace
F4a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F4b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F4c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F4d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
DETAIL 1:20 LOGGIA
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W1: External sliding window
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13. 8TH FLOOR - TOP FLOOR DETAIL
F6
F5
F1
F4a
F2
F4b
F3
F4c
F4d
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor Terrace
F2: Prefabricated CLT Terrace (14 cm)
F3: Finish ceiling terrace
F4a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F4b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F4c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F4d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
F5: External inish loor for green roof
F6: Finish loor - Double insulation layer for green roof
DETAIL 1:20 LOGGIA
WALL
W1: External sliding window
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14. 8TH FLOOR - FACADE DETAIL
W1
F1
F2
F4a
F3
F4b
F4c
F4d
W1
FLOOR
WALL
F : Finish loor Terrace
W : External sliding window
DETAIL FACADE
1:20
FOR INDESIGN
F : Thermal insulation of the external loor
1
2
F3: Prefabricated CLT Terrace (14 cm)
F4a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F4b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F4c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F4d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
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15. 9TH FLOOR - FACADE DETAIL
W1
F1
F4a
F2
F4b
F4c
F3
F4d
W1
FLOOR
F1: Finish loor Terrace
F2: Prefabricated CLT Terrace (14 cm)
F3: Thermal insulation of the external ceiling
F4a: Pre-fabricated loor: concrete layer (8 cm)
F4b: Pre-fabricated loor: wood+concrete layer (5 cm)
F4c: Pre-fabricated loor: air space layer (17 cm)
F4d: Pre-fabricated loor: multifunctional panel (5 cm)
DETAIL FACADE 1:20
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W1: External sliding window
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.6
BUILDING SERVICES DESIGN
The Thesis building is a tower of 77 meters with
1 underground level, an extended ground
loor and 22 loors above the ground.
The last loor consist in a terrace.
In the underground there are parking lots and
in the ground loor there are several activities
such as supermarket, shops, restaurants.
The underground and the ground loor
design were not required by the 2nd phase
of the competition because it was a task of
the 1st place ofice winner to coordinate
the design of these 2 main loor which are
extended to all the 4 towers.
From loor 2 to 21 then, the only programmatic
program is residential.
The size of the lats is between 70 m2 and 90
m2 with a special condition regarding the
loor 8th, which have 2 shared apartments of
around 120 m2 each and 4 lats with 35 m2
each.
The building service system was based on
the basis of these data. Every lat needs a
mechanical, electrical, plumbing and ire
system, and each loor needs a vertical
transportation system.
Cooling / Heating System
It is becoming increasingly important plan
a cooling or heating system in order to be
environmentally friendly and save money on
energy supplies.
The system proposed to heat and cool each
residential units is due radiant panels. They
are based on radiant principle which involves
positioning radiant panels on the ceiling with
cold or hot water lowing through them.
In this way the panels can adsorb the heat
radiation from people, electronic devices,
objects and surfaces thanks to the cold
water, or creates a comfortable indoor
climate which works in the similar way of
150
the sun because the warm water realise
the energy in the room in form of infrared
radiation, converted into heat when comes
into contact with people or surfaces.
The surface temperature drop and the place
becomes cool all without mechanical noise
or drafts. Moreover, the sound absorbing of
the cooling ceiling increases comfort level
further to create a healthy indoor climate.
This system is also really responsive, meaning
that the room temperature can be quickly
adapted as needed and it is maintenance
free.
Ventilation System
To guarantee a good level of comfort in each
lat the building will have also a ventilation
system which control the air quality in each
room of each lat.
In order to do so, every lat will have a
mechanical ventilation unit which will
manage fresh and exhaust air.
Pipes and tubes for the ventilation system
will be located in the air space between the
heating/cooling system and the structural
wood panels.
Electrical system
Electrical, data and telephone conduits
are run vertically through the core and are
distributed to each unit within the ceiling.
Each must also be coordinated.
The loor system will need a electrical
connection due the presence of lights,
located in the multifunctional panel.
Plumbing system
The domestic water system will be supply
by the city’s water main with a combined
domestic water / ire protection dual
metered water service into the building.
3.6 BUILDING SERVICE DESIGN
Figure 92: The Floor system with the cables and pipes integrated in the cavity space.
Figure 93: The loor system is based on the ERNE supraloor ecoboost2. The image above is a modiication of the ENRE system in order to make it similar tot the
loor system.
151
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
Water will be provided to the residential
units by high and low zone booster pump
assemblies.
Fire protection System
Fire protection water supply will be provided
with double detector check valves from
the combined domestic and ire protection
water service.
The building is provided with an automatic
sprinkler system which is installed in the
ceiling. Sprinklers are also located outside
the building, to provide ire safety also for the
terraces,
Vertical transportation
The vertical system is composed by 2
elevators and 1 elevator big enough for
disable people in the safe core.
2 emergency stairs are also located in the
core according to the ONORM, the Building
Code of Austria.
Discipline coordination
Building system coordination of a Tall Wood
building is handled in much the same way
that a conventional steel or concrete
building is designed.
The Thesis project has 3 cavities: 2 on the end
of the long side and one near the centre.
The 2 bigger cavities have a triangular
shape and they have 4 m2 area so they can
guarantee the necessary space for cables
and installations along the building.
In the centre of the core there are rooms that
are originally thought to be rent as additional
storage space for the inhabitants of the
tower, or as technical spaces for additional
space if necessary.
Underground and ground loor level have
space to store technical rooms and also the
152
top loor of the building could provide space
for some technical machines.
Primary mechanical and plumbing systems
are routed vertically within the units and
distributed on a loor by loor basis.
Also electrical wires, telephone cords and
data wires are routed through the core on a
loor by loor bases.
3.6 BUILDING SERVICE DESIGN
THE MULTIFUNCTIONAL PANEL
Structural
Heating / Cooling
Mass
Ventilation
Finished ceiling
Light
Acoustic
Sprinkler
153
PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.6.1
SYSTEM COMPARISONS
The loor system was also thought for help the
collocation of building systems like heating/
cooling or air controlling.
The multifunctional panel is particularly
conformed for a radiant ceiling system.
CEILING RADIANT vs HEATER
Energy saving
Radiant system works with low water temperature to obtain better comfort and consequently maximum eficiency in the management of the energy resource.
Simple installation
As radiant panel, the system will not require heavy builder works.
Climate comfort uniformity
Radiant systems guarantee the same temperature at each
point of the room respect a punctual source. Furthermore the
loor space is clear of any kind of machine or obstruction.
CEILING RADIANT vs AIR
Climate comfort uniformity
Radiant system use the water to cool or heat the space. The air
system instead use the air and in some cases it could help to
distribute allergens and bacteria in the house.
Radiant systems do not need ilters as the air system and then
they require less maintenance.
No physical discomfort
Radiant systems do not suffer the physical discomfort typical of
the traditional air systems that could have strong cold or hot air
lows.
Architectural versatility
Usually the ventilation system occupy a part of the wall or of the
ceiling like the heaters system. Radiant system will leave instead
the layout of the room free.
CEILING RADIANT vs FLOOR RADIANT
Versatility
The ceiling system will be not in direct contact with the pavement of the rooms.
This will let free to put furniture and carpets allowing cooling without condensation problems together with a simple installation.
154
The following scheme wants to enlist some
advantages of this system particularly used
in Tall Wood examples previously analysed.
Winter period
Summer period
3.6 BUILDING SERVICE DESIGN
Figure 94: A typical lat unit will consist in a 3 loor system coniguration. Pipes, tubes, cables are connected thought the cavity of the ceiling to the main
technical rooms or cavity.
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.7
STRUCTURES COMPARISON
Ground Floor
8th Floor
Mass
Timber
Core
Hybrid Post&Beam structure
Hybrid Post&Beam structure
Concrete
Core
Structural facade and shear walls
8th Floor
22nd Floor
Structural facade and shear walls
22nd Floor
Concrete
Core
Ground Floor
Figure 95: Schematic representation of the 2 structures
Overview
The result of this section is a preliminary result
of the environmental impact of using wood
(notably Mass Timber products and glulam)
as the primary structural material for a tall
building.
Based on the results, it could be possible
to understand the plus point and the weak
points of Mass Timber structure compared
with a concrete one.
In this section the reinforced concrete
structure of the Plot 3 Project is compared
with the hybrid Mass Timber structure of the
Thesis project.
The focus of this section is on percentage of
sustainable material used in every part.
Material used
In the competition project 100% of the
material used in the structure in reinforced
concrete.
The thesis project instead has different
percentage of concrete and Mass Timber
products:
Core
Mass
Timber
core
60%
40%
Concrete
core
In the Thesis project the core is around 250
156
3.7 STRUCTURES COMPARISON
m2, slightly bigger than the Competition core.
From the ground loor to the 8th loor the
Thesis project has a concrete core which
switched to a Mass Timber one from the 9th
to the 22th. Because the volume of the walls
and of the area could be considered the
same, it is possible to say that the 60% of the
entire core will be in Mass Timber material.
Rest of the structure
Floor system
The rest of the structural part of the building is
composed by:
- Gluam columns
- CLT structural facade
- CLT Shear walls
Mass
Timber
material
100%
They are 100% Mass Timber materials therefore
the rest of the structure is composed by Mass
Timber.
Mass
Timber
material
55%
45%
Concrete
material
Quantity assumptions
Mass
Timber
Material
The material used for the loor system in a
building is usually 70% of all the material used
in that building.15
So it is possible to afirm that the percentage
of material which composes the loor system
is strongly inluencing the overall system.
If we analyse then the loor system, the Mass
Timber part is formed by the 2 glulam beams
and the 70% based wood product positioned
under the concrete layer.
The average quantity are 55% of Mass Timber
material and the 45% for the concrete one
which is a result similar to the core.
65%
35%
Concrete
material
In order to make a probable calculation
assumption it could be possible to consider
that the overall percentage of the building
is around 65% Mass Timber material and 35%
concrete.
The correct amount of these quantities
should be analysed in terms of Life Cycle
Assessment to fully understand the value of
these percentages.
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PART 3 THE ALTERNATIVE TALL WOOD BUILDING
3.7.1
PROS AND CONS OF THE MASS TIMBER STRUCTURE
The previous percentage analysis helped to
understand quantities comparison between
the 2 building’s structure. In this section
pros and cons of the quantity assumptions
will be compared with the data given by
CREE Rhomberg. CREE is the company that
realized the Life Cycle Tower in Dorbirn and
made some calculation to evaluate LCT.
WEIGHT
- 40%
750 kg/m²
300 kg/m²
As we saw in the Part 1, Mass Timber is a
really light structural material but with great
structural performances.
The most common plus point of Mass Timber
structures is indeed that they are the lightest
structure possible.
If we apply these data we could obtain
that the entire weight of the structure can
decrease around 40% starting from the
weight of the concrete structure.
The foundation system in this way will be
reduced, saving some money.
CO2 EMISSION
- 50%
0,15 tons /m²
158
0,75 tons /m²
In the process of creation of the building
material the CO2 is one of the most important
one because of all the considerations
regarding the climate change.
Mass Timber products, because of their
sustainable process, perform better than any
other building materials because they are
based on wood which is simply growing by
the power of the sun and it can even store
the CO2. If we compare the 2 structure in
these terms, we will see a decrease of CO2
emissions around 50% less.
3.7 STRUCTURES COMPARISON
SPEED OF OPERATION (5 WORKERS + CRANE)
400 m2/day
50 m2/day
The structural system of the Thesis project
is based on Life Cycle tower. The grade of
prefabrication in fact which the 2 buildings
have in comparison is nearly the same. CREE,
which realized LCT demonstrates that the
speed of realization was incredibly higher in
comparison with a concrete similar building.
HEALTH ENHANCING INDOOR SPACE QUALITY
Wood is a living material even as glulam or
CLT. The quality of the space it can create
are not comparable with the grey concrete.
The columns and beams left exposed will
increase the overall aesthetic values.
ASSURANCE OF COST
High
Low
If the Mass Timber structure is thought as
highly prefabricated one, it will be possible
be sure of the exact amount of elements
and therefore the exact amount of the
cost of the structure, unlike the concrete
structure, always uncertain for several
possible problems in the building site during
the construction.(weather, time, details).
SYSTEM COST
250 € / m3
10 % cheaper
Mass Timber products cost more in
comparison with a concrete structure
especially in Vienna. Generally a Mass Timber
structure cost 10% more. In the building
market which always try to ind the cheapest
solutions, this is a important aspect.
159
160
Vittorio Salvadori
The Design of a Tall Wood building
PART 4
NEXT STEPS AND CONCLUSIONS
Project considerations and address for research
Master Thesis
161
PART 4 NEXT STEPS AND CONCLUSIONS
4.1
NEXT STEPS
The proposed structural system was
developed after a detailed study of the
already realized and on going projects.
From the data and the structural approaches
a deined system was designed. The system
will need speciic engineered calculations to
be proved deinitively.
The structural behaviour must therefore be
veriied with additional research and physical
testing.
This
section
outlines
recommended
additional work.
Structural Design
Connections
A key aspect for the successful design of a
Mass Timber buildings are the connections.
One of the main aspects needed to fully
understand the structure is to study in detail
what will be the stresses and the energies the
connections will face.
Structural testing
As for every structural concept and
preliminary design, the Thesis structure needs
to be tested with the common engineer
software / calculations. It will be analysed
the combination of the gravity and lateral
systems and a feedback in terms of size of
the elements and other characteristics will
be given.
Fire resistance
A ire engineer should review the proposed
structural system and connections and help
develop necessary performance based
design criteria and details.
It will be important to establish performance
based- design criteria speciic for Tall wood
building, to develop ire design criteria
speciic to composite timber-concrete
162
system and to create ire models to establish
required exposure times.
Building Process Considerations
A construction engineer or contractor should
review and comment on the systems and
possible erection sequence. The building
process is based on already realized
concrete-core building and normally Mass
Timber building are erected with phases.
A general feedback on the possibility to build
easily the Mass Timber above the concrete
one is one of the main aspects to take care
and especially the connections between the
2 different cores.
Architectural Considerations
Durability detailing
Additional studies should be done to
determine the necessary details of all
concrete/timber
joints
for
long-term
durability. The study should include costbeneit analysis of cost and total design life.
The impact due to moisture or water
exposure should be studied for areas that
may be exposed for long periods of time or
to a large amount of water.
Acoustical aspects
Wood in general performs badly from an
acoustical point of view. The proposed loor
system can imagine a good quality of the
sound insulation also because is guaranteed
by the similar ERNE system, but to be sure of
the real grade of insulation the entire system
has to be tested.
The building code of the city of Vienna
regarding the Sound impact performance
(LnTw) is 48 LnTw. This value is already dificult
to obtain for entire concrete loors so this is
an aspect to consider carefully.
4.1 NEXT STEPS
Manufacturing
Mass timber industry representatives should
review and comment on the products/
materials and system so that the design can
be optimized. It will be important to determine
the manufacturing and installations process
and limitations of reinforcement epoxy
connected to timber. Also the CLT core
panels should be considered determining
the thickness and possible other solutions in
order to obtain a maybe cheaper solution.
Cost estimating
A cost estimator should review the proposed
system in conjunction with construction
engineering and manufacturer comments in
order to estimate the total cost of the system.
Speciic attention should be given to
new details and new uses of products
and materials. Comparison of alternate
materials, manufacturing, processes and
erection sequences and schedules should
be included.
Code consultant
Hoho tower showed that in Austria several
cutting-edge ire strategy could be used.
Anyway a code consultant should evaluate
the results of this report and develop
appropriate performance based design
requirements for high-rise Mass Timber
building.
These design requirements should consider
the level of service currently provided by the
perspective design of reinforced concrete
and structural steel buildings.
163
PART 4 NEXT STEPS AND CONCLUSIONS
4.2
CONCLUSIONS
The main goal of the Thesis project was to
design an alternative Mass Timber structure
which could be enough detailed to both
understand what it means to design a Tall
wood building and see how its structure
could be compared with a similar concrete
one.
The case of the Competition project made
by the architectural ofice Alles Wird Gut
was a particular pretext because it was
a well known project by the student and
it is detailed at the level of a competition
project, in order to keep feasible the general
comparison of the 2 different approaches.
Comparison with Project Goals
The proposed system meets the initial goals
given by the irst chapter “3.1 Project Goals”.
The overall goals are achieved except for
some cases.
The building is not economical
What is clear is that a Mass Timber building can
not be cheaper than a concrete building.
The concurrent market of the concrete
builders is too strong and developed to easily
convince a building owner to chose in Mass
Timber structure.
What seems possible instead is to propose
hybrid solutions, mixed solution between
Mass Timber Products and concrete.
The core of the building is for sure an element
to study more in detail and it is an element of
additional cost.
By 2023 there will be 13 projects in Mass
Timber that will help to understand the
PROJECT GOALS
Marketable
The volumetric division
The position of the core
Serviceable
The heights of the building
The general architectural layout
Economical
The same Total Surface
The Podium in concrete
Sustainable
The terraces
The green areas
Develop the installation system
164
4.2 CONCLUSIONS
possible solutions to the economical aspects.
The Thesis project is taller
The Thesis project needed an higher loor-toloor height.
From 2,88 meters of the concrete project,
the Thesis project proposes a 3 meter loorto-loor height and a 3,5 meter one in the 8th
loor, in order to guarantee enough space
for insulation and green parts.
This will rise the tower up to 77 meters against
the 72 of the concrete one and will collide
with the Competition limit height of 73 meters.
A possible solution could be to delete 2
loors but for a market point of view it will be
unlikely.
The Thesis project is overall similar to the
concrete one
From a preliminary aspect, the projects
are overall similar. Some architectural
considerations were deliberately chosen in
different ways to aesthetically emphasize
the Tall Wood characteristics (such as nonstructural facade, not-panellized handrail).
But regarding ideas and concepts behind
(such as clear differentiations between 2
part of the building, tower-bigger part at the
bottom) the buildings are the same.
Green areas which characterize the 8th
and the Top loor could be created also in
the Tall wood Thesis project because Mass
Timber does not create moisture problems if
perfectly water-proof.
because of the several environmental
problems our century has to face.
The bigger obstacle does not seem to
be the technology necessary to realize
Tall Wood buildings because engineers,
architect, wood suppliers companies,
universities and builder all around the world
are every year achieving new successes and
accomplishments.
What is important is to convince people, the
public opinion, investors that wood as Mass
Timber product is the only possibility we have
in order to build sustainably.
It is important to make them to understand
that is not enough have building which emits
low or zero CO2 after they are realized, but
also since the beginning of their realization,
from the building material origin.
Only if we do this, we will fully contribute as
architects to the health of out planet.
Final considerations
Tall wood building need to be designed
properly and are a particular ield of
structural/architectural ield still in progress.
We are at the beginning of a possible
revolution which needs to be realized
165
LIST OF REFERENCE
1. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/
2. In the 1860s, physicist John Tyndall recognized the Earth’s natural greenhouse effect and
suggested that slight changes in the atmospheric composition could bring about climatic
variations. In 1896, a seminal paper by Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius irst predicted that
changes in the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could substantially alter the surface
temperature through the greenhouse effect.
3. National Research Council (NRC), 2006. Surface Temperature Reconstructions For the Last
2,000 Years. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/page3.php
4. Micheal Green, Why we should build wooden skyscrapers, TED Talking 2013
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_green_why_we_should_build_wooden_skyscrapers?language=it
5. Micheal Green, Why we should build wooden skyscrapers, TED Talking 2013
https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_green_why_we_should_build_wooden_skyscrapers?language=it
6. Wooddays.eu - Wood and climate
http://www.wooddays.eu/it/wood-and-climate/
7. State of Europe’s Forests 2011, Oslo,Norway: Ministerial Conference on the Protection of For-
166
ests in Europe - FOREST EUROPE Liaison Unit Oslo, 2011
http://www.foresteurope.org/documentos/State_of_Europes_Forests_2011_Report_Revised_
November_2011.pdf
8. State of Europe´s Forests 2015, 2015.
http://www.foresteurope.org/docs/fullsoef2015.pdf
9. Wooddays.eu - Wood and climate
http://www.wooddays.eu/it/wood-and-climate/
10. Promo_Legno, Foreste
http://www.promolegno.com/foreste/
11. E. Mosca, La protezione delle foreste in Europa: gli obiettivi della gestione forestale,
http://www.legnotrentino.it/documenti/pubblicazioni/2008/asfor_op_dnatura01_2008_09_17.
pdf
12. A.H. Buchanan, A. Palermo, D. Carradine, S. Pampanin. Post-Tensioned Timber Frame Buildings. Journal of Structural Engineering, UK. Sept 2011. Vol 89, No. 17. pp 24-30.
13. A.H. Buchanan and T. Smith, 2015. The Displacement Paradox for Seismic Design of Tall
Timber Buildings. New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineering Conference, Rotorua, New
Zealand.
14. Timber Tower research Project, Final report, Skidome, Owings & Merrill, 2013.
167
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168
Climate change and demographical
increase in developing countries are
inducing us to reconsider the way we build
the buildings. Concrete and steel have
already reshaped our cities for 2 centuries
but problems related to the non-sustainable
aspects of steel and concrete are now
appearing in their productive system,
characteristics, creation process and energy
demands.
It is necessary to ind new solutions, especially
regarding high-rise buildings which will be
one of the main typologies of construction in
a more and more urban future scenario.
The only structural material that can tackle
the future demand of building is wood as Mass
Timber Products. There are already several
successful examples of how this material
could answer architectural challenges.
As architects, we have the power to choose
how the building is built and realized. On our
profession stands a great chance to increase
the realization of sustainable buildings. Since
the beginning of mankind, wood structure
was one of the most common types and
this trend was decreased only in the last
2 centuries thanks to the rise of steel and
concrete structures.
The 21st century can be instead the century
of the renaissance of wood an the motifs
are really a lot. Sustainable, renewable, zero
impact and other qualities certiied that it
must be considered as possible solution.
The context of the competition Wien
Heiligendstadt Wohnen und Arbeiten is
a pretext to show how an international
competition can adopt Mass Timber as
technological solution compared with a
concrete solution. Showing the plus points
and demerits of wood as a structural material
is the main aim of this Master Thesis.
Additionally, this Master Thesis aims to
demonstrate the feasibility of an on ield
context rather than a theoretical solution,
while also displaying the current status of
wood technology.