The $6 billion wooden skyscraper
Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd. plans to build the world’s tallest wooden high-rise building in Tokyo.
Called the W350 Plan, the 350-meter-tall building will consist of 70 stories and include offices, hotels, and residences, according to Sumitomo Forestry.
The Tokyo-based company said the goal of the structure is to create environmentally-friendly and timber-utilizing cities that become forests through increased use of wooden architecture for high-rise buildings.
Sumitomo Forestry said the total construction costs of the W350 Plan have been estimated to be almost double that of a conventional high-rise building constructed with current technology. The company estimates that the completed project will cost 600 billion Yen (US$5.57 billion).
The W350 concept plan has been prepared primarily at Tsukuba Research Institute, Sumitomo Forestry’s research and development facility, which is working on expanding possibilities for wooden buildings as a roadmap for future technology.
The planned structure is a hybrid wood and steel structure made from 90% wooden materials. It will use a braced tube structure in which steel frame vibration control braces are positioned inside a column and beam structure, made from a combination of wood and steel. The outermost side of the structure is designed with balconies that continue around all four sides of the building. The balcony gives the high-rise building a space in which people can enjoy fresh outside air, rich natural elements and sunshine filtering through foliage,
If you plan on visiting the structure after its completion, there is a catch. The building will not be completed until 2041 when Sumitomo celebrates its 350th year in business.
