But first, we're doing it because it's cold up here!
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Five years ago, tall wood buildings (those six storeys and higher), were not even on the radar for architects, engineers and developers in Canada. But since the idea has caught on in Europe and Australia, and boasts distinct environmental and economic advantages, it is slowly gaining ground.
If “mass timber” is to achieve mass popularity, however, it will have to overcome significant skepticism about its safety.
“It’s really just opening the building officials’ and the public’s eyes toward what is actually possible with wood,” says Geoff Triggs, a consultant at LMDG Building Code Consultants who contributed to a report Green produced earlier this year called The Case for Tall Wood Buildings. “We are making baby steps now, but I would say that the momentum is gathering, definitely.”
In London, England, a nine-storey wood apartment building was completed in 2009. Its 29 units sold in just over an hour. There is also a seven-storey wood building in Sweden, and Melbourne will soon boast the world’s tallest wood building, a 10-storey apartment building currently under construction. If plans to build a 30-storey wood building in Austria go ahead, Melbourne may not hold the title for long.
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