Sweden has made a building of 75 m height that is entirely made of wood. This is going to be the world’s tallest building that is made up of wood. The name of the building is Sara Cultural Centre, and it is an amazingly giant leap towards attaining construction sustainability. The building is expected to become carbon negative in the coming 50 years.
It has a high-rise-20-story tower while also having a low-rise cultural center. It comprises an art gallery, a museum, a theater, and a library, a hotel with a restaurant, a spa, and a conference center. The mesmerizing panoramas of Skellefteå, which is just below the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland can be viewed from the top floors. On the other hand, the interiors highlight the natural beauty of the wood.
“The high-rise hotel is built up from prefabricated 3D-modules in Cross Laminated Timber (CLT),” says White Arkitekter. “The low-rise cultural center is built with columns and beams of Glued Laminated Timber (GLT) and cores and shear walls in CLT. Integrated structural design has eliminated the need for concrete entirely from the load-bearing structure, speeding up construction and drastically reducing the building’s carbon footprint.”
The timber used came from local forests and the outer has sunscreens against the 24-hour summer sun in that part of the world and a heat pump-based system that gives energy-efficient heating and cooling. The solar panels are extended on 1,200 sq m (almost 13,000 sq ft). An integrated AI-based system adjusts energy use depending on occupancy.
At present, Norway’s Mjøstårnet is considered the world’s tallest building that has a height of 85.4 m (280 ft). Second is Vienna’s HoHo Wien, at 84 m (275 ft). However, that has a concrete core. So, it is a hybrid timber/concrete tower. It means that Sara Cultural Centre’s 75 m (246 ft) is the world’s second-tallest modern all-timber tower. Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is yet to determine the official ranking.
