"We have entered an era in which buildings are no longer considered within the parameters of a construction site, but from a global environmental perspective," he explained. This will see the industry become more focused on studying the carbon emissions of their designs, he said, and overtake current mass-timber trends such as the race to the sky. The tower imagines a structure that combines timber and steel "The fact that carbon emissions for timber are low compared to concrete or steel in the manufacturing process means it is also a factor in the low-carbon age we strive to achieve."Īoyagi believes so strongly in the potential of mass timber in bringing "the low-carbon age" in Japan that he also thinks the material could help bring about a new architectural movement centred on a "low-carbon consciousness". "In Japan, demand for timber must be increased in order to restore health to forests," Aoyagi explained. "Our main objective is to improve the health of Japan's forests and decarbonise the country," Aoygai said. Mass timber can help achieve "the low-carbon age" Nikken Sekkei hopes that ambitious projects like the W350 Plan can help reverse this trend by helping to increase the interest in the use of mass timber, as well as physical demand. In addition, 'patent wars' between developers regarding materials and joint details are making it more difficult for mass timber to gain widespread use." "This means that materials costs remain high because competitive principles do not apply. "From a mass timber perspective, legal restrictions on construction in Japan limit the number of manufacturers and contractors who can produce fire-resistant materials," he explained. Read: World's tallest timber tower proposed for Tokyo This decline has contributed to the dwindling number of forestry workers in the country, exacerbated by the ageing population of this workforce, and is leading to a lack of logging and reforestation.Īs a large proportion of artificial forests in the country that were planted after world war two are now in need of logging, a lot of timber is going untended.Ĭosts of domestic timber in Japan are also soaring due to legal restrictions on both the use of wood in architecture and on which manufacturers are allowed to develop mass timber products, said Aoyagi. Japan's forestry industry has been in decline since its peak in the 1980s when the number of artificial forests being planted began to slow and the country embraced cheaper foreign imports. "Patent wars" limiting use of timber in Japan "Due to the decline of the forestry industry in the past and the difficulty of harvesting timber from steep mountainsides, domestic timber is more expensive than imported timber at the point of production," Aoyagi explained. However, this is currently hindered by the cost of domestic wood products in the country, caused by the decline of its forestry industry. The W350 Plan is a research project with Sumitomo ForestryĪccording to Aoyagi, increasing the demand for mass timber in Japan could help push the country to achieve a "low-carbon age". Such products are increasing in popularity in the construction industry due to wood's ability to sequester carbon and its potential for lessening dependence on heavily polluting materials like concrete and steel. ![]() Mass timber is an umbrella term for engineered-wood products, which typically consist of layers of wood bound together to create strong structural components. ![]() "If it is effective for that purpose, we should promote demand for wood in low-rise buildings and in hybrid structures that combine non-wood materials in opportunities and projects where they are easy to use." "We do not think it is necessary to focus too much on high-rise buildings or pure mass-timber construction," he explained. ![]() "We should promote demand for wood in low-rise buildings"įor him, the true value of the concept lies in sparking interest in mass timber and encouraging its uptake in architecture – particularly in Japan. Despite the interest attracted by Sumitomo Forestry's and Nikken Sekkei's vision to reach record-breaking heights, Aoyagi believes this is not the most important aspect of the project.
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