Trees, and their derivative products, have been used by societies around the world for thousands of years. Contemporary construction of tall buildings from timber, in whole or in part, suggests a growing interest in the potential for building with wood at a scale not previously attainable. As wood is the only significant building material that is grown, we have a natural inclination that building in wood is good for the environment. But under what conditions is this really the case? The environmental benefits of using timber are not straightforward; although it is a natural product, a large amount of energy is used to dry and process it. Much of this can come from the biomass of the tree itself, but that requires investment in plant, which is not always possible in an industry that is widely distributed among many small producers. And what should we build with wood? Are skyscrapers in timber a good use of this natural resource, or are there other aspects of civil and structural engineering, or large-scale infrastructure, that would be a better use of wood? Here, we consider a holistic picture ranging in scale from the science of the cell wall to the engineering and global policies that could maximise forestry and timber construction as a boon to both people and the planet.

The wood from the trees: The use of timber in construction

SUMMARY
Multi-storey buildings made of cross-laminated timber panels (X-lam) are becoming a stronger and economically valid alternative in Europe compared with traditional masonry or concrete buildings. During the design process of these multi-storey buildings, also their earthquake behaviour has to be addressed, especially in seismic-prone areas such as Italy. However, limited knowledge on the seismic performance is available for this innovative massive timber product.

On the basis of extensive testing series comprising monotonic and reversed cyclic tests on X-lam panels, a pseudodynamic test on a one-storey X-lam specimen and 1D shaking table tests on a full-scale three-storey specimen, a full-scale seven-storey building was designed according to the European seismic standard Eurocode 8 and subjected to earthquake loading on a 3D shaking table. The building was designed with a preliminary action reduction factor of three that had been derived from the experimental results on the three-storey building.

The outcomes of this comprehensive research project called ‘SOFIE – Sistema Costruttivo Fiemme’ proved the suitability of multi-storey X-lam structures for earthquake-prone regions. The buildings demonstrated self-centring capabilities and high stiffness combined with sufficient ductility to avoid brittle failures. The tests provided useful information for the seismic design with force-based methods as defined in Eurocode 8, that is, a preliminary experimentally based action reduction factor of three was confirmed. Valid, ductile joint assemblies were developed, and their importance for the energy dissipation in buildings with rigid X-lam panels became evident. The seven-storey building showed relatively high accelerations in the upper storeys, which could lead to secondary damage and which have to be addressed in future research. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

SOFIE project – 3D shaking table test on a seven-storey full-scale cross-laminated timber building‡

Seismic behaviour of Cross-Laminated Timber structures: A state-of-the-art review

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is a wood construction technology that has been utilized in Europe for several decades and has become even more popular recently. Although the technology has been in existence for approximately 20 years, its seismic performance has been explored only recently by a handful of researchers. Interest in bringing CLT to the North American construction market necessitates a full understanding of the seismic behavior of CLT systems and the development of a response-modification factor, known as the R-factor, for use in force-based seismic design codes. In this paper, a nonlinear, load-resistance model for CLT shear walls is developed based on reversed-cyclic test data and explained. An estimation of a possible R-factor is obtained by developing a design for a 6-story CLT apartment building, based on computed peak interstory drifts, to achieve good performance in a high seismic region of the United States. It is concluded that using the equivalent lateral force procedure with ...

Approximate R-Factor for Cross-Laminated Timber Walls in Multistory Buildings

Large parts of the world are subjected to one or more natural hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, tropical storms (hurricanes, cyclones, and typhoons), coastal inundation, and flooding; although, many regions are also susceptible to artificial hazards. In recent decades, rapid population growth and economic development in hazard-prone areas have greatly increased the potential of multiple hazards to cause damage and destruction of buildings, bridges, power plants, and other infrastructure; thus, grave danger is posed to the community and economic and societal activities are disrupted. Although an individual hazard is significant in many parts of the United States, in certain areas more than one hazard may pose a threat to the constructed environment. In such areas, structural design and construction practices should address multiple hazards in an integrated manner to achieve structural performance that is consistent with owner expectations and general societal objectives. The growing interest and importance of multiple-hazard engineering has been recognized recently. This has spurred the evolution of multiple-hazard risk-assessment frameworks and development of design approaches, which have paved way for future research towards sustainable construction of new and improved structures and retrofitting of the existing structures. This paper provides a review of literature and the current state of practice for assessment, design and mitigation of the impact of multiple hazards on structural infrastructure. It also presents an overview of future research needs related to multiple-hazard performance of constructed facilities.

https://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%29CF.1943-5509.0000279

Review of Methods to Assess, Design for, and Mitigate Multiple Hazards

In July 2009, a full-scale midrise light-frame wood apartment building was subjected to a series of earthquakes at the world’s largest shake table in Miki, Japan This article focuses on the test results of that full-scale six-story light-frame wood building The objectives of the testing program were to (1) demonstrate that the performance-based seismic design procedure developed as part of the NEESWood project worked on the full-scale building, ie, validate the design philosophy to the extent one test can and (2) gain a better understanding of how midrise light-frame wood buildings respond, in general, to a major earthquake while providing a landmark data set to the seismic engineering research community The building consisted of 1,350  m2 ( 14,000  ft2 ) of living space and had 23 apartment units; approximately one-half one-bedroom units and one-half two-bedroom units The building was subjected to three earthquakes ranging from seismic intensities corresponding to the 72-year event to the 2,500-yea

H. Shimizu

Papers

Experimental Seismic Response of a Full-Scale Six-Story Light-Frame Wood Building