Towers of CLT timber have green implications

An article in the New York Times explains the virtues of cross-laminated timber, or CLT, in building applications -- including a nine-story tower.

One of several varieties of the larger category of engineered wood, CLT is used in one of the world’s tallest wood residential buildings, a nine-story building in London. In the United States, the idea has yet to take off.

The article quotes Pete McCrone of Whitefish, Mont.-based Innovative Timber Systems: “This is the way we ought to be building.”

CLT buildings offer a lower carbon footprint compared with steel or brick, according to its promoters.