Tokyo plans to build the world's tallest wooden building
The W350 tower would become the tallest building in Japan
A new urban green space
The timber company Sumitomo Forestry has just proposed its next project: to build the tallest wooden tower in the world, right in the center of Tokyo. The 350m structure would be completed by 2041.
Inside the proposed W350 tower
W350
The Japanese timber company Sumitomo Forestry have just unveiled their new plans: to construct a wooden tower, located in a central area of the capital. Named "W350", the construction of the building marks the 350th anniversary of the company. With 70 floors, it will house a hotel, apartments, offices and shops. The new tower will be four times higher than the Brock Commons Student Residence in Vancouver, Canada, the current highest wooden tower of its kind. Culminating at 350 meters height, W350 will also become the tallest skyscraper in Japan, overtaking Abeno Harukas in Osaka.
Read : Abeno Harukas
Concrete and wood
The Sumitomo Forestry project guideline, in partnership with the Nikken Sekkei, is hoping to encourage the use of timber in urban areas to "change cities into forests". Wood will make up 90% of the structure, around 185,000m2 of raw material. Greenery terraces will connect the floors to the top of the tower. The interior, made of wood, will bathe the visitor in a natural and warm light. Historically, the majority of Japanese buildings were constructed using wood, but their numbers dropped dramatically over time because of the high risk of fires. The use of wood in urban buildings has risen in popularity again thanks to the promotion of the use of timber in public buildings in 2010.
Also note that wood is also the preferred material of the architect Kengo Kuma in the construction of the new stadium for the 2020 Olympic Games.
The tallest wooden building in the world
A detail of W350
