As part of a competition to alleviate Paris’ urban housing issues, Michael Green Architecture designed a carbon-neutral residential high-rise that would be the world’s tallest wood building if completed.
According to ArchDaily, the Canadian firm teamed up with DVVD and REI France in developing its Réinventer Paris competition submission. The project is named Baobab, after the tree, and will be 35 stories tall.
MGA has long been an advocate of constructing wooden buildings because of wood's relatively minimal environmental impact compared to other materials.
In a press release, the firm contends that “when harvested responsibly, wood is the only carbon-neutral building material that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and actually sequester carbon in buildings.”
The amount of wood designers expect the project to use would store an estimated 3,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which the firm says in a statement is “equivalent to keeping 2,207 cars off the road for a year, or operating a home for 982 years.”
“Paris is the ideal place to reinvent and demonstrate truly ecological development, and to ensure the youth of Paris have an opportunity to live, thrive, and connect to their city,” Paul Jarquin, President of REI France, said in a statement.
“Our goal is that through innovation, youthful social contact, and overall community building, we have created a design that becomes uniquely important to Paris,” Michael Green, Principal of MGA, said in a statement. “Just as Gustave Eiffel shattered our conception of what was possible a century and a half ago, this project can push the envelope of wood innovation with France in the forefront. The Pershing Site is the perfect moment for Paris to embrace the next era of architecture.”
Read more on ArchDaily.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Jul 27, 2017
Five fire scenarios tested on full-scale mass timber building
Results will help inform code changes.
Industrial Facilities | Jul 26, 2017
EGGER will invest $700 million to build its first U.S. manufacturing facility
The company says the new facility will create 770 jobs over the next 15 years.
Office Buildings | Jul 19, 2017
James Corner Field Operations, designers of the High Line, creates rooftop amenity spaces for three Dumbo office buildings
The new spaces range from about 8,500 to 11,000 sf and were added to Two Trees Management’s anchor office buildings.
Reconstruction & Renovation | Jul 18, 2017
Mortenson Construction incorporates 100-year-old barn into new Portland office space
Mortenson deconstructed the barn and repurposed it for the new space.
Codes and Standards | Jul 10, 2017
New mass plywood panel project moves ahead with federal grant
New material is substitute for concrete and steel in multi-story projects.
Wood | Jul 10, 2017
University of Idaho Arena plans to make timber a focal point
The project received a Wood Innovation Grant that will help spur construction of the Hastings + Chivetta-designed project.
Wood | Jun 13, 2017
The first timber high-rise in the U.S. set for construction in Portland
The building’s design, building materials, and commercial tenants are all focused on the key aspect of sustainability.
| Jun 13, 2017
Accelerate Live! talk: Next-gen materials for the built environment, Blaine Brownell, Transmaterial
Architect and materials guru Blaine Brownell reveals emerging trends and applications that are transforming the technological capacity, environmental performance, and design potential of architecture.
Wood | Jun 6, 2017
Shigeru Ban-designed residential structure poised to become world’s tallest hybrid timber building
The wood, concrete, and glass building will rise approximately 233 feet when finished.
| Jun 5, 2017
Fire-rated frames deliver the natural look of wood
The TimberLine Series pairs a high-strength steel subframe with a wood-veneered metal cover cap to produce a slender fire-rated frame.
