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Timber Innovation: Cross-laminated timber (CLT)
Cross-laminated timber or CLT is made by rafts of 2x4 beams aligned in perpendicular
layers, then glued or laminated together like a sandwich. The resulting panels are lighter and less
energy-intensive than concrete and steel and much faster to assemble on-site than regular timber,
proponents say. Because the grain in each layer is at a right angle to the one below and above it,
there's a counter-tension built into the panels that supporters say makes them strong enough to
build even the tallest skyscrapers.
From Maine to Arkansas to the Pacific Northwest, the material is sparking interest among
architects, engineers and researchers. Many say it could infuse struggling forest communities
like Riddle with new economic growth while reducing the carbon footprint of urban construction
with a renewable building material.
Visually blemished wood that currently goes to waste can be used in the middle layers of a
CLT panel without sacrificing strength or look. Supporters say it could bring sawmills back
online while improving forest health through thinning dense stands and making use of low-value
wood and local tree [Link] as small as 5 inches in diameter at the top and those damaged
by pests and wildfire are prime candidates.
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The New Wood: Making CLT
The process for producing cross-laminated timber makes clear why architects call it
“plywood on steroids.” Its layered structure gives it immense strength in two directions,
producing a lightweight alternative to steel or concrete.
1. Layer
Beams of wood, usually spruce, are set down side by side in layers, with each layer
perpendicular to the one beneath it, creating a wood board up to a foot thick. A thin layer of glue
is placed between each layer.
2. Press
The wood boards are placed in a massive press, which squeezes them together.
3. Sand
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The edges of the boards are sanded down. If longer sections are needed, the edges are
fingerboarded to create a serrated interlocking end. They are then glued to the matching end of
another panel to create sections up to 78 feet long.
4. Cut
The boards are cut to custom specification, incorporating spaces for windows and utilities,
using 3-D files sent by the architects or construction team.
Famous Timber structure: Stadthaus building
From the outside, there is nothing
particularly flashy about the nine-story
building, called Stadthaus, that Waugh
designed with his partner, Anthony
Thistleton. Its gray and white facade
blends almost seamlessly into the overcast
London skies. It’s what’s inside that
makes Stadthaus stand out. Instead of steel
and concrete, the floors, ceilings, elevator
shafts, and stairwells are made entirely of
wood.
But not just any wood. The tower’s
strength and mass rely on a highly
engineered material called cross-laminated
timber (CLT). The enormous panels are up to half a foot thick. They’re made by placing layers
of parallel beams atop one another perpendicularly, then gluing them together to create material
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with steel-like strength. “This construction has more in common with precast concrete than
traditional timber frame design,” Thistleton says. Many engineers like to call it “plywood on
steroids.”
When it opened in 2009, Stadthaus was by far the world’s tallest modern timber building.
Since then, CLT towers have sprouted up everywhere. Waugh Thistleton built a seven-story
apartment tower near Stadthaus in 2011, and construction is under way on a 90-foot-tall wood
building in Prince George, British Columbia. In 2012, Stadthaus lost the height record to a
10-story apartment building in Melbourne called Forté.
Anatomy of a Timber Tower
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1. Whereas steel or concrete structures are 7. Elevators have double walls with insulation
skeletal, using columns to carry loads, CLT sandwiched between them for fire safety and
towers distribute weight over the entire, solid soundproofing.
vertical panel.
2. Steel or concrete L-brackets fix the
horizontal and vertical CLT panels together.
3. The horizontal spans between vertical CLT
elements can be significantly longer than with
steel or concrete beams.
4. Interior walls are usually fireproofed by
applying a layer of gypsum paneling on top of
the mass timber panels.
5. A two-inch layer of concrete typically
covers two two-inch layers of insulation
(separated by a three-inch void) to reduce
acoustic vibration between floors.
6. Panels come made to order with windows
cut out and sometimes piping and electrical
installed. Construction is as easy as screwing
the panels together.
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