Timber skyscrapers?

Because of concerns about the climate-changing emissions from steel production, tall-building engineers are now exploring—and already using—timber in multi-story buildings, according to a recent article in the New York Times.

A nine-story, wood-framed apartment building in London, erected in 2009, has become a showpiece. Another project, contemplated by the engineering firm that designed the new One World Trade Center in lower Manhattan, is a 42-story residential tower made of wood that would have a lower carbon footprint than a conventional steel structure. These designs utilize beams that are laminated from smaller pieces of wood rather than large timbers and traditional joinery.

Hardwick Post & Beam has no such towering ambitions. We have always been a green builder, and intend to remain down-to-earth.