The history of building with wood [infographic]

The first timber home was built 10,000 years ago. Now 40-story wood skyscrapers are being constructed.

July 14, 2016 |

Mike Chamernik, Associate Editor

The history of building with wood [infographic]

The ceiling of the Richmond Olympic Oval building in Richmond, B.C., Canada, is made of glulam. Photo: Thelastminute/Wikimedia Commons.

Even as other building materials emerge, from classics like steel, masonry and concrete to the recycled materials repurposed in large-scale 3D printing, wood is still here.

Advances in engineering, like cross-laminated timber (CLT), is making large wooden skyscrapers possible. A timber office tower is coming to London, a wooden residential complex is being built in Montreal, and Stockholm is planning a 40-story CLT skyscraper. An architect even designed an entire wood multifamily building district in Sweden.

Wood, particularly CLT, remains king for builders. Compared to steel and concrete, it's "cheaper, easier to assemble, and more fire resistant, thanks to the way wood chars," writes Clay Risen of Popular Science. "It’s also more sustainable. Wood is renewable like any crop, and it’s a carbon sink, sequestering the carbon dioxide it absorbed during growth even after it’s been turned into lumber."

The material has been around forever — the first timber home literally dates back to the Stone Age. Log Cabin Hub, a site dedicated to the planning, building, and living in log cabin homes, produced an infographic called Living with Wood: From the Beginning of Time, that chronicles the history of wood building.

(Click to enlarge)

All photos courtesy Exli.

June 24, 2020 | Wood | David Malone, Associate Editor

One of Europe’s largest office and warehouse buildings is made entirely of wood

Exli designed and built the project.

Rendering courtesy HDR

April 01, 2020 | Wood | David Malone, Associate Editor

HDR will design a mass timber Ramada Hotel

The hotel will be located in Kelowna, British Columbia.

For a 100,000-sf, three-story overbuild at 80 M Street East in Washington, D.C., Hickok Cole and Arup will use mass timber, which the developer Columbia Property Trust believes will lure tenants and justify higher rents. Image: Hickok Cole Architects

February 03, 2020 | Wood | John Caulfield, Senior Editor

Mass timber construction grows up

Mass timber is finally making a dent in commercial construction. But can it keep up with demand?

All renderings courtesy Hickok Cole

January 24, 2020 | Wood | David Malone, Associate Editor

105,000-sf vertical mass timber expansion will cap D.C.’s 80 M Street

Hickok Cole is designing the project.

A rendering of an office building in San Francisco that will be built with mass timber components. Mass Timber could be on the verge of gaining broader acceptance in the U.S. as a result of imminent building code changes and increasing supply. Images: Brookfield Properties and Design Distill

December 11, 2019 | Wood | John Caulfield, Senior Editor

Design plans submitted to San Francisco for the largest mass timber office building in North America

Suppliers of engineered wood products are suddenly scrambling to keep up with demand.

All photos: Tim Hursley

December 06, 2019 | Wood | David Malone, Associate Editor

The University of Arkansas is now home to America’s largest mass timber building

A design collaborative led by Leers Weinzapfel Associates, Modus Studio, Mackey Mitchell Architects, and OL...

Laval University’s TELUS Stadium houses a 328-foot by 197-foot indoor practice field for soccer, football, and rugby. Thirteen arches span 222 feet and provide a clear height of 59 feet at the center of the stadium, which seats 450 spectators. Photo courtesy Nordic Structures | Photographer: © Stéphane Groleau

October 24, 2019 | Wood | By Kerry Gold, Contributing Writer

Could mass timber be a game changer for stadium design?

Projects throughout the U.S. and Canada showcase the design and environmental traits of large-scale wood sp...