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Carbon neutral, sustainable, and made entirely from all-timber frames, the supertalls of the future may be made almost completely out of wood and other natural materials. Or at least that could become the case if Perkins + Will have any say in the matter. Their River Beech Tower proposal for an 80-storey all-timber supertall for downtown Chicago could take timber construction to a whole new level.
Created by a team that includes lead architects Perkins + Will, engineers from Thornton Tomasetti, and the University of Cambridge, River Beech Tower is part of a much larger master plan for the Chicago riverfront. While the project currently a purely academic exercise, it could very well come to fruition by the time the Chicago master plan nears completion.
A marked improvement over other conventional timber construction methods that have cropped up over the last decade, which rely on timber beams made with concrete cores or timber framing supported by steel beams, the all-timber exterior diagrid and interior cross-bracing system created by the design and engineering team would be built entirely of sustainable materials, taking advantage of the inherent axial strength of timber.
With the proposal set at 80 storeys, the River Beech Tower would more than double the height of the tallest timber hybrid structures standing today, which have currently been capped at about 30-40 storeys. Thus entering into supertall territory, and doing so without the use of concrete or steel, the team's vision for an all-timber tower of this scope introduces a host of exciting new possibilities for the future of construction, development, and city building.
In keeping with the theme of a carbon-neutral sustainable future for the realm of development, the design team has included a series of well-lit communal spaces, both at ground level in the atrium, and again at various points further and further up the tower, which would be populated by vegetation and trees. Both aesthetically pleasing and practical from an environmental air-quality perspective, the addition of plant life to the structure would help further reduce its carbon footprint throughout the duration of the tower's lifespan.
Still very much a work in progress, the River Beech Tower would make a wonderful addition not only to the Chicago riverfront, but to the world of construction as a whole, bringing with it a realm of new possibilities for the future of city building across the globe. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.
