In Vancouver, Canada, the towering timber Brock Commons just had its final panel installed, making the dream of the world’s tallest timber building a reality, reports the website Inhabitat.
In just 66 days – ahead of the original scheduled timeframe – the exterior of the Acton Ostry Architects‘ record-breaking design has come to fruition, which could bump up the projected fall 2017 completion date to next year’s spring semester. The final panel of the University of British Columbia student housing structure was lifted and installed earlier this month.
John Metras, managing director of UBC Infrastructure, said, “Construction just went really smoothly. It was well designed and the construction sequence went smoothly.”
Construction began last November, followed by the erection of the building’s freestanding concrete cores earlier this year.
To ease fire safety fears of an 18-story timber structure, Brock Commons is outfitted with a sprinkler system and the wood is encapsulated in drywall and concrete. The lighter weight of the building also allows for better energy dissipation during an earthquake, making it proficient at withstanding all kinds of disasters. Students will be able to move in next year, quite possibly in the spring semester.
From ProudGreenBuilding: https://www.proudgreenbuilding.com/news/worlds-tallest-timber-building-topped-off-ahead-of-schedule/