World’s tallest wooden building planned in Canada

16 to 18 storeys is the proposed student housing complex on the University of British Columbia’s Point Grey campus. At a height of 53 meters, it will be the world’s tallest wooden building of its kind, a report on vancitybuzz.com says. The structure will consist of highly compacted laminated lumber beams. The mixed-use student housing wooden tower will include up to 400 student beds in a floor area of 157,000 square feet. The project will cost Can$30 million and is scheduled for occupancy in September 2017.

At present, the tallest wood building in the world is a 10-storey, 32-metre tall apartment complex in Melbourne/AU, according to the report. A 14-storey, 51-meter tall wooden building is under construction near Oslo/NO. In 2012, Vancouver-based Michael Green Architecture unveiled a conceptual design of a 30-storey wooden building as part of a feasibility study demonstrating that “wood is a viable material for tall and large buildings alike.”