Wood is the key to a more sustainable building industry, says architect John Klein, who has led Massachusetts Institute of Technology students in designing a large community centre from mass timber.
The Longhouse is a 40-foot-high structure to be made from laminated veneer lumber (LVL), one of a new class of engineered wood products that are able to withstand high levels of stress.
The material would allow the Longhouse to contain a large enclosed space ? 140 feet (43 metres) long and 50 feet (15 metres) wide ? that is uninterrupted by any internal structural supports.
Mass timber offers eco-friendly construction option
Klein, a research scientist in MIT's architecture department, said that mass timber like LVT offered a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel, and had become economically viable as well. "At heights above six stories, mass-timber technologies have begun to compete economically with concrete and steel building solutions," Klein told Dezeen.
"Mass-timber buildings offer a promising solution for housing and carbon reduction goals, in addition to providing a sustainable solution for cities to address urban sprawl."

In contrast to emissions-intensive concrete, mass-timber production is low-impact and non-toxic. It also has the additional benefit of storing carbon from the atmosphere that has been sequestered by the tree as it grew. "The building is a carbon sink," said Klein.
Mass timber has already been used in several US bu...