The latest student residence block being erected above the University of British Columbia campus in Canada is nothing like the usual dorms. The 53-meter tall Brock Commons will be the world’s tallest wooden building upon its completion.
The wooden residential tower is now several months ahead of its schedule and is nearing completion at an incredible speed. The 18-storey structure will house 272 studio blocks and 33 four-bed units that could accommodate 404 students.
16 floors of the world’s tallest wooden tower are made out of five-ply cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels while a steel-framed roof sits atop it. The building also includes a base and stairwells. The façade of the structure comprises of pre-fabricated panels featuring pre-installed windows. The pre-fab panels come with steel stud framed sections with a high-pressure laminate containing 70 percent wooden fibres.
The first floor of the building was completed in only one week while each next week witnessed at least two more levels being added to the rapidly rising tower. The entire wooden structure, excluding the steel roof and the concrete sections, was completed in just 66 days!
Russell Acton from the Acton Ostry Architects said that Brock Commons would be ready four months ahead of it slated completion timeline, i.e. by May 2017.
The architects have designed Brock Commons so that it may be awarded LEED Gold certification (a green building standard) on completion.