Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd, a member of the Sumitomo Group, has big plans to celebrate the Group’s 350th anniversary in the year 2041: a 350-meter wooden tower that comprises retail, office, hotel, and residential space. The Tokyo-based tower would become Japan’s tallest building and the tallest wooden skyscraper in the world.
The overall goal of the high-rise, dubbed W350, is to help realize an environmentally conscious city of wooden buildings that would transform Tokyo into a “forest.” Sumitomo describes the tower as “a living place of living things.”
Courtesy of Sumitomo.
The mixed-use building, which is being designed in collaboration with Japanese architecture firm Nikken Sekkei, will be a wood and steel hybrid that consists of 90% wood. The interior will be made entirely of wood. It is designed to rise 70 stories and 350 meters (1148 feet) into the Tokyo sky. The total floor area will be approximately 455,000 sm and will use 185,000 cubic meters of wood. The company says using this amount of wood would have a two-pronged effect: it will equip the tower to remove about 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the air and will also be a catalyst to encourage reforestation.
The tower is designed with a braced tube structure. This system forms a cylindrical shell with columns/beams and braces. The braces are placed diagonally in a set of shafts assembled with columns and beams to prevent the building from deforming against lateral forces like earthquakes and wind. Balconies will wrap the exterior of the building to provide fresh air, nature, and sunlight.
Courtesy of Sumitomo.
W350’s cost is estimated at 600 billion yen, or $5.6 billion. For comparison, One World Trade Center cost $3.6 billion. Sumitomo says the cost of the wooden tower is almost twice that of conventionally constructed high-rise buildings. In order to bring those costs down, the company is accelerating its research and technology development in an attempt to increase the construction and economic feasibility of the project.
Courtesy of Sumitomo.
The current tallest wooden building in the world is the Brock Commons on the University of British Columbia campus. The building stands 53 meters, almost 300 meters shorter than the planned W350.
Japanese architecture firm Nikken Sekkei is helping to design the tower.
Courtesy of Sumitomo.
Related Stories
Wood | Mar 2, 2017
These are the 2017 WoodWorks Wood Design Award winners
Winners were selected in categories such as wood school design, commercial wood design, wood in government buildings, and green building with wood.
Wood | Jan 13, 2017
Steel and concrete's take on tall wood
The American Institute of Steel Construction contends that the steel industry is a “world leader” in using recycled material and end-of-life recycling, and has made strides to lower greenhouse gas emissions below regulatory requirements.
Game Changers | Jan 12, 2017
Mass timber: From 'What the heck is that?' to 'Wow!'
The idea of using mass timber for tall buildings keeps gaining converts.
Wood | Nov 1, 2016
Oregon lumber provider unveils mass plywood panel for tall wood structures
Designed as an alternative for cross laminated timber (CLT), MPP is a large-scale plywood panel with maximum finished panel dimensions up to 12 feet wide by 48 feet long and up to 24 inches thick.
Wood | Nov 1, 2016
Norway Spruce approved for wall studs, floor and ceiling joists, industrial applications
The species is first new U.S.-grown softwood to be tested for strength values since 1920s.
Sponsored | Wood | Oct 26, 2016
Compelling conversations about wood: East and West Coast regional challenges
Fast-rising designers Ben Kasdan and Blake Jackson offer candid perspectives from both coasts on the merits—and challenges—of designing with wood and compare notes on how architects can change perceptions by dreaming big and pushing boundaries.
Sponsored | Wood | Oct 13, 2016
Engineered wood provides sustainable options, cost savings, and design flexibility
Designers choose engineered wood to deliver strength, stability, and a sustainable solution for complex structural designs
Wood | Oct 13, 2016
Concept from Perkins+Will could become the world’s tallest timber tower
River Beech Tower is said to be a part of a masterplan along the Chicago River.
Wood | Sep 21, 2016
‘The Smile’ showcases the structural potential of CLT
Weight for weight, CLT is stronger than concrete and can be machined to incredibly high tolerances.
Wood | Sep 6, 2016
Atlanta suburb prohibits wood-framed construction for high rises
The new building code prevents any structure with more than three stories from being built from a CLT frame.