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Tall Wood and Mass Timber Buildings Around the World



Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre, Ontario’s first use of CLT and Brock Commons, 18-storey mass timber building at UBC.

Tall wood and mass timber buildings are found in Great Britain, Europe, Canada, the United States, Scandinavia, and Australia. Countries with forest resources and strong wood processing and manufacturing industries tend to be the early adopters. However, since mass timber components are prefabricated and can be packed and shipped to anywhere in the world, even countries without these resources are still constructing tall wood buildings. In fact, new projects are announced in other parts of the world on a regular basis.

Tall wood is not just a solution for major cities. Buildings in the 8- to 12-storey range are perfect for densification without being overbearing on the surrounding neighbourhoods. Where the efficiencies of other construction materials are only achieved with much taller buildings, the typical tall wood building has lower mobilization requirements on a construction site even at the 8-storey height. They tend to weigh significantly less than buildings made of other common construction materials which can result in smaller foundations, and, where soil capacity is poor, tall wood buildings can allow for the construction of additional floors compared to other buildings.