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  #1  
Old Posted Jun 4, 2015, 2:04 AM
Sheba Sheba is offline
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Vancouver architecture firm proposes timber skyscraper for Paris skyline

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Vancouver architect Michael Green, who co-wrote the book on building skyscrapers out of wood timbers, has a role in an audacious proposal to construct the world’s tallest to stand as a beacon on the Paris skyline.

At 35 stories, the wooden tower Green’s team is proposing would have to be approved as an exception to Paris’s existing height limits for wood structures, but he hopes winning the bid could be the “Eiffel-Tower moment” for the acceptance of tall timber buildings he has been advocating for close to a decade.

...

Proposals for taller wood structures are being advanced in North America, including an 18-storey student residence building at the University of B.C., and in Sweden and Austria.

...

His firm is working on the 18-storey student residence at UBC and has made proposals to build similarly tall “hybrid” structures in Vancouver, buildings combining a lot of wood with concrete and steel. However, Fast said using wood is a matter of “finding the right building type, the right application.”
http://www.vancouversun.com/Vancouve...741/story.html
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  #2  
Old Posted Jun 4, 2015, 2:24 AM
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Wasn't somewhere at ubc supposed to build a wooden skyscraper?
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  #3  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 7:01 AM
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Seeing Notre Dame cathedral's huge fire, with only the masonry part intact and the wooden part burnt off, perhaps we should not build anything in timber...it's just a time bomb waiting to go off, cuz you just never know. No matter what the wood industry people tell you, the risk is always there.
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Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 7:06 AM
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That has got to be the stu... lol.
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  #5  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 8:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vin View Post
Seeing Notre Dame cathedral's huge fire, with only the masonry part intact and the wooden part burnt off, perhaps we should not build anything in timber...it's just a time bomb waiting to go off, cuz you just never know. No matter what the wood industry people tell you, the risk is always there.

(link)

Bonus points for being French.
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  #6  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 8:25 AM
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Another inflammatory post from Vin, figures.
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  #7  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 4:07 PM
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Another inflammatory post from Vin, figures.
"Inflammatory", I see what you did there.
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  #8  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 4:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vin View Post
Seeing Notre Dame cathedral's huge fire, with only the masonry part intact and the wooden part burnt off, perhaps we should not build anything in timber...it's just a time bomb waiting to go off, cuz you just never know. No matter what the wood industry people tell you, the risk is always there.
I know, crazy right, it only lasted 850 years. I'm sure our iconic gems like Trump Tower, Midori, Amazing Brentwood etc will be standing tall and proud when they reach that milestone.
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  #9  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 4:54 PM
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The amazing thing is that there are really old wooden buildings that have survived serious fires, unfortunately the wood we use today often isn't old enough.
Old-growth forest trees that have grown slowly over their life have a remarkable resiliency. In old-growth forests, only 3% of the light reaches the forest floor. Trees grow really, really, slow... but at those speeds, they end up being extremely dense and resilient to all kind of disasters.

When we plant now, we plant for optimal growing speed. Ask any firefighter and they'll tell you that modern houses are basically made up of kindling. The spaces in the wall, the porous wood-framed construction and flammable materials means modern houses are more susceptible to burning than 70–80 years ago.

I wouldn't be surprised if what caused Notre Dame's devastation to be so bad was a lot to do with the wood scaffolding than the wood inside, but that's just my speculation.
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Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 7:28 PM
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Originally Posted by whatnext View Post
I know, crazy right, it only lasted 850 years. I'm sure our iconic gems like Trump Tower, Midori, Amazing Brentwood etc will be standing tall and proud when they reach that milestone.
Yeah 850 years, like I said, the risk is always there.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-a8872051.html


Pictures from the scene show the extent of the damage dealt to Notre Dame after a fire burned through the cathedral overnight.

The wooden roof of the building has been mostly destroyed, with its ancient wooden beams turned to ash.

The interior has fared far better, however. Constructed mostly from concrete, it has not suffered the same devastation as the roof.

Many treasures of the cathedral, such as the Crown of Thorns and the 18th century great organ, have also survived intact.

The fire was officially extinguished shortly before 9am on Tuesday.



Oh by the way, have you seen any ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Chinese or other oriental original wooden structures surviving to this day?
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  #11  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 7:31 PM
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Originally Posted by twoNeurons View Post
The amazing thing is that there are really old wooden buildings that have survived serious fires, unfortunately the wood we use today often isn't old enough.
Old-growth forest trees that have grown slowly over their life have a remarkable resiliency. In old-growth forests, only 3% of the light reaches the forest floor. Trees grow really, really, slow... but at those speeds, they end up being extremely dense and resilient to all kind of disasters.

When we plant now, we plant for optimal growing speed. Ask any firefighter and they'll tell you that modern houses are basically made up of kindling. The spaces in the wall, the porous wood-framed construction and flammable materials means modern houses are more susceptible to burning than 70–80 years ago.

I wouldn't be surprised if what caused Notre Dame's devastation to be so bad was a lot to do with the wood scaffolding than the wood inside, but that's just my speculation.

Thanks for sharing. Obviously, many here are still pretty blind to the dangers of wooden houses and apartments. People should know that wood is supposed to burn, otherwise it won't be wood. Can't blame them though cuz it's the way mass construction is done here, and people are wired to think that wooden structures are a given.
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  #12  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 7:37 PM
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Originally Posted by GeeCee View Post
Another inflammatory post from Vin, figures.
Knee-jerk reaction reply, figures.
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  #13  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 7:38 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut View Post

(link)

Bonus points for being French.
I wonder why that ancient Greek statue isn't wood. Ohh right, because the wooden ones disintegrated or got burnt over time!
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  #14  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 7:45 PM
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Why is wood home fire insurance 7 to 11 times more than a concrete building HERE IN CANADA? Perhaps looking at some numbers can convince you people.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...572957891.html


With climate change, wooden structures are also more susceptible to destruction in hurricanes.
In the event of an earthquake, they are also more prone to collapsing.
When there is a tsunami, as in Japan, the ones left standing are mostly concrete/brick buildings.

Enough said.
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  #15  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 7:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vin View Post
Why is wood home fire insurance 7 to 11 times more than a concrete building HERE IN CANADA? Perhaps looking at some numbers can convince you people.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...572957891.html


With climate change, wooden structures are also more susceptible to destruction in hurricanes.
In the event of an earthquake, they are also more prone to collapsing.
When there is a tsunami, as in Japan, the ones left standing are mostly concrete/brick buildings.

Enough said.
Vin.. Google "timber" construction. Or try these guys: https://structurecraft.com/materials. We'll be touring their local facility
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  #16  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 8:15 PM
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Originally Posted by GenWhy? View Post
Vin.. Google "timber" construction. Or try these guys: https://structurecraft.com/materials. We'll be touring their local facility
Unfortunately I can say that 99% of wooden structures are not built to such standards. Wood/concrete composite?? If only that's true.

Also, notice that a lot of their products are more for aesthetics to complement steel/concrete structures.
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  #17  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 8:23 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vin View Post
Unfortunately I can say that 99% of wooden structures are not built to such standards. Wood/concrete composite?? If only that's true.

Also, notice that a lot of their products are more for aesthetics to complement steel/concrete structures.
That is true on the standards. Woodframe is different than timber structures. Only recently are we allowing timber structures through either hybrids or fully-timber structures. Hence why Structure Craft has a lot of other complimentary products. Not sure what you mean by products for "aesthetic" purposes.
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  #18  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 9:01 PM
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Originally Posted by Vin View Post
Oh by the way, have you seen any ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Chinese or other oriental original wooden structures surviving to this day?
Todai-Ji temple in Nara, Japan was generally considered the largest wooden building in existence, originally built in the AD700s. It's current incarnation was built in 1709 after only 2 fires in 1000 years . It's since been surpassed in size by a wooden stadium also in Japan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipro_Hachiko_Dome).
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  #19  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 9:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vin View Post
Unfortunately I can say that 99% of wooden structures are not built to such standards. Wood/concrete composite?? If only that's true.

Also, notice that a lot of their products are more for aesthetics to complement steel/concrete structures.
Woodframe buildings are seeing huge insurance hikes across Canada even if they haven't had any claims. Concrete is seeing smaller hikes.
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  #20  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2019, 9:26 PM
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Originally Posted by misher View Post
Woodframe buildings are seeing huge insurance hikes across Canada even if they haven't had any claims. Concrete is seeing smaller hikes.
We're talking timberframe, not woodframe. Looked it up after GenWhy pointed that out and there's a massive difference.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vin View Post
Why is wood home fire insurance 7 to 11 times more than a concrete building HERE IN CANADA? Perhaps looking at some numbers can convince you people.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-release...572957891.html


With climate change, wooden structures are also more susceptible to destruction in hurricanes.
In the event of an earthquake, they are also more prone to collapsing.
When there is a tsunami, as in Japan, the ones left standing are mostly concrete/brick buildings.

Enough said.
Hmmm....

What Kind Of Architecture Best Withstands Hurricanes? (spoiler alert: timber)
Wood-frame construction advantageous in areas prone to seismic activity
Japan's 60-foot tsunami toppled four-story concrete building, shattering safety and engineering strategies

If the builders of antiquity had access to modern chemistry and construction techniques, there's no reason why their wood wouldn't have lasted longer.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Vin View Post
I wonder why that ancient Greek statue isn't wood. Ohh right, because the wooden ones disintegrated or got burnt over time!
That's Henri Vidal's statue of Cain, carved in France circa 1896. Derp.
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