TECH MANIA: Move over, steel

   image source : google

Humans have been crafting shelters out of reliable wood ever since our ancestors solved the problem of chopping down trees. In everything from simple huts made of branches, to broad pavilions with large timbers set in post-holes, wood has always featured prominently.

In Europe, there's evidence of wooden structures from at least 4000 B.C. Humans were building probably well before that. This is given that wood typically doesn't hold up well after being buried for millennia. And the ones that are still standing today aren't mere hovels. Switzerland claims the House of Bethlehem, from 1287 A.D. The famous Urnes stave church in Norway was erected around 1130 A.D. And the great-grandtemple of them all is standing at 122 feet tall. It is Japan's Horyu-ji pagoda. It was built in 607 A.D.

    image source : google

But wood can only build so high. So as cities grew, builders began to use new materials. The modern skyline in many cities is almost exclusively shiny glass and polished stone. The materials are supported by steel and concrete.

Yet now, wood is making a comeback. And it's in a new way.

One big boon is a material called cross-laminated timber. Architects and engineers hope it will make big buildings lighter, cheaper to build and more environmentally friendly. Just call it CLT.

"I've been here for nearly 30 years now. And during that time there've only been a few items that have generated a bit of buzz and interest. This is one of those items," said David Kretschmann. He is a research engineer. He works with the U.S. Forest Service's Forest Products Laboratory (FPL). It is in Madison, Wisconsin.

In use in Europe for nearly 20 years, CLT and other so-called mass timber products have been key design elements. When finished, University of British Columbia's Brock Commons 18-story building will hold the record for tallest CLT-constructed structure. And 18 stories is by no means the limit. Swedish architects have proposed a 34-story wooden building. Researchers and architects have designed an 80-story, one million square-foot giant at the Barbican in London, primarily made of wood. At 984 feet tall, it would rank as the world's 18th tallest building. It would rank just ahead of Four World Trade Center in New York City.