{"id":1004648362,"date":"2023-02-28T04:30:54","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T12:30:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004648362"},"modified":"2023-03-31T06:50:07","modified_gmt":"2023-03-31T14:50:07","slug":"behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Rise of Mass Timber Towers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

The Offices at Southstone Yards. Image courtesy of Crow Holdings<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Before concrete and steel\u2019s arrival 150 years ago, wood represented the leading building staple. Today, with the advent of ultra-strong, safe mass timber, what\u2019s past is prologue. The era of the ever-taller timber commercial building has arrived.<\/p>\n

Mass timber\u2019s acceptance is being propelled by multiple factors, with sustainability and decarbonization of the built environment among the most prominent. Many developers, owners and tenants are determined to cast their lot with sustainable structures.<\/p>\n\n\n

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READ THE DIGEST<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cMany have climate commitments and climate pledges driving their sustainability interests,\u201d Lauren Wingo, project lead on Washington, D.C.\u2019s 80 M<\/a>, designed by global sustainable development consultancy Arup<\/strong>, told Commercial Property Executive<\/em>. At 10 stories, 80 M is the tallest mass timber office building developed to date in the U.S., she said.<\/p>\n

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READ ALSO<\/strong>: Will CRE Construction Hold Steady in 2023?<\/a><\/p>\n

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Quicker, safer construction projects are another upside, said Cody Armbrister, head of development, office, with real estate development and investment firm Crow Holdings<\/strong>. Components are prefabricated offsite. \u201cThere are fewer people onsite, so you\u2019re able to move faster, move safer. That speed is a critical advantage of mass timber,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Offices at Southstone Yards. Image courtesy of Crow Holdings<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

An improved user experience for tenants is still another positive, Armbrister said. Use of natural materials in biophilic design has been shown to hike productivity, reduce stress and absenteeism and promote healthier environments. This goes along with a flight to quality in post-COVID office space. Office tenants may now be leasing less space, but seeking more distinctive and attractive space, Wingo said.<\/p>\n

Alan Kennedy, managing director of Hines<\/strong>, which created its proprietary mass timber product T3<\/a> more than a decade ago, agreed wood creates distinctive environments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWood is a natural material, and it evokes a different emotion in people when they tour the building,\u201d he commented. \u201cMost visitors immediately walk to one of the mass timber columns to touch it. There is a scent and a quietness that embraces you in a mass timber building. People\u2019s reactions to timber are very powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaulting hurdles<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The 2021 International Building Code (IBC) permits up to 18-story timber buildings. But not every city is on board. \u201cDepending on the municipality, you may get one that understands what mass timber is, or one operating on a 2015 IBC,\u201d Armbrister said.<\/p>\n

One municipality that appears onboard is the District of Columbia. Arup regarded D.C. as one of its project partners in developing 80 M, Wingo said. The district was engaged during the design process, and worked alongside Arup to address safety concerns.<\/p>\n

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READ ALSO<\/strong>: What\u2019s Ahead for the Office Sector in 2023<\/a><\/p>\n

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While some municipalities remain concerned about fire, \u201cthere are no challenges from a fire standpoint,\u201d Armbrister said. \u201cIt\u2019s more fire-retardant than traditional steel. Fire is given fuel by the timber. But when the timber\u2019s laminated, the outer layer snuffs out fire\u2019s ability to continue. Steel just continues to burn until it returns to its original state.\u201d<\/p>\n

The grid layout of floorplates may be seen as a mass timber design challenge, Wingo said. A roughly 30-by-30-foot column grid is common in commercial offices. In mass timber buildings, columns are more closely spaced, at roughly 20 by 30. \u201cThat is harder to work with for tenants,\u201d she said. \u201cIt changes how you lay out the space.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>

The Offices at Southstone Yards. Image courtesy of Crow Holdings<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Timber may also be saddled with costlier insurance premiums<\/a>, Armbrister said. Because mass timber structures are limited in number, insurers don\u2019t have a body of evidence to cite in determining how buildings perform over a 10- or 15-year period. \u201cThere\u2019s some reticence on the part of insurance carriers,\u201d he said. \u201cWith perceived risk can come inherent additional insurance premium costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Availability of product may represent one more concern, said Danny Harrington, director of innovation for development consultant Project Management Advisors<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Mass timber has been used in Europe and Australia since the 1980s. \u201cBut there\u2019s not a lot of production in the U.S.,\u201d he said. \u201cWhere it\u2019s been successful, there\u2019s been cooperation between the development, construction and forestry industries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Design trends<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Within T3 buildings, including seven-story T3 Minneapolis, the first major multistory U.S. office building built of wood in a century, Hines uses the timber structure as the finish. \u201cTenants do not feel the need to change the base condition,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cA concrete building can be that way, but timber has a warmer feel and a different comfort level than concrete, which tends to feel sterile and cold. With tenants, just complementing the space with their own furniture, the condition requires less modification\u2014and wasted materials going to a landfill\u2014for the next tenant.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"2021<\/a>

2021 International Building Code types. Image courtesy of Arup<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

In the case of high-rises, defined as higher than 85 feet, architects and developers are trying to find ways to use more contemporary skin, rather than a punched, masonry-like expression, Armbrister said. \u201cArchitects must ask, \u2018Where do we accentuate the timber, and where do we wrap it in non-combustible material like sheetrock?\u2019\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to do with the ability of municipalities to fight fire<\/a> at higher heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are several exceptions to the 2021 IBC, Kennedy said. While Type IV-A calls for all mass timber elements fully encapsulated, and up to 18 stories, Type IV-B calls for protected exterior, partially exposed interior mass timber elements, and up to 12 stories. Type IV-C calls for protected exterior, exposed mass timber interior, and up to 9 stories. Some jurisdictions may impose not just height limits but restrictions like requiring percentages of the timber to be encapsulated, not exposed.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s ahead? Recognizing the urgency associated with the 39 percent of global CO2 emissions derived from developing and operating buildings, Hines is considering incorporating its T3 platform in industrial and residential platforms as well as office projects. Wingo envisions a future delivering more competitive markets for mass timber, reducing the material\u2019s current cost premium.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a construction type here to stay,\u201d Armbrister concluded. \u201cHeadwinds and challenges associated with a perceived new product type will dissipate. You\u2019ll see mass timber in more buildings of all asset classes. The modularization of these buildings, and the idea so much of them can be built off-site, really has people excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the April 2023 issue of CPE.<\/em><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a flurry of high-profile projects, this building material is gaining traction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":450,"featured_media":1004648441,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21782,21808,23891,21742,21747,21786],"tags":[35449,37358,32797,51529],"class_list":["post-1004648362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-development","category-featured","category-national","category-latest","category-office","category-sustainability","tag-arup","tag-crow-holdings","tag-hines","tag-project-management-advisors"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Rise of Mass Timber Towers - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mass timber\u2019s acceptance is being propelled by multiple factors, led by sustainability and decarbonization of the built environment.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Behind the Rise of Mass Timber Towers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mass timber\u2019s acceptance is being propelled by multiple factors, led by sustainability and decarbonization of the built environment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-02-28T12:30:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-31T14:50:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/02\/The-Offices-at-Southstone-Yards-featured.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"802\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"610\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeffrey Steele\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/\",\"name\":\"Behind the Rise of Mass Timber Towers - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/02\/The-Offices-at-Southstone-Yards-featured.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-02-28T12:30:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-31T14:50:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/d331e0059e00242bd623aa07925cd418\"},\"description\":\"Mass timber\u2019s acceptance is being propelled by multiple factors, led by sustainability and decarbonization of the built environment.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/behind-the-rise-of-mass-timber-towers\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/02\/The-Offices-at-Southstone-Yards-featured.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2023\/02\/The-Offices-at-Southstone-Yards-featured.jpg\",\"width\":802,\"height\":610,\"caption\":\"The Offices at Southstone Yards. 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