Breaking the Boundaries

Moelven are at the forefront of timber design and are presently at work on Mjøstårnet that when complete in March 2019 will be the world’s tallest timber building at 81 metres.

“With a wider building, it will be possible to build a timber building taller than 100 metres. 150 metres should also be possible. Possibly even taller,” says Director Rune Abrahamsen of Moelven Limtre AS and the man behind Mjøstårnet. The building that many people in the international construction industry are seeing as a yet another example of what can be done with solid wood.

He’s supported by Director Sverre Tiltnes at Bygg21, the Norwegian government’s body to promote an efficient and sustainable industry across Norway. Bygg21 is a partnership between the government and the entire Norwegian construction and real estate industry. Tiltnes also previously headed the introduction of BREEAM in Norway. “The project is an important
contribution to make the international building industry more environmentally friendly,” says Tiltnes. “When one proves and documents that one can build a taller timber building that what one previously thought was possible, there’s no doubt that this is world-class engineering.”

“Unfortunately, many industry players have previously had an unfounded fear that wood has poor load-bearing properties and high risks in the event of fire. Mjøstårnet is contributing to more people realising that wood is very safe with regard to fire and has a load-bearing capacity that allows for significant heights. I believe the upcoming world record of 81 metres is just the start of a megatrend.”

A number of players are vying for the world record for the world’s tallest timber building, and a need for a proper definition of a high rise timber building has arisen. Dr. Robert Foster, on commission from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has put forward a proposal that buildings with braced concrete cores be defined as wood-concrete hybrid buildings. He has reason to believe that this proposal will be adopted in the first half of 2018. If the rules come into force, HoHo Tower in Vienna and Brock Commons in Vancouver will be defined as ‘wood-concrete hybrid’ buildings rather than timber high-rises.

Mjøstårnet will be 81 metres tall across 18 storeys. Up to 1997 it was prohibited to build timber houses taller than three storeys in Norway due to fire concerns from a previous era. “The fire safety measures that have been implemented in Mjøstårnet make the timber building far safer than a corresponding building with a traditional steel and concrete structure,” says Even Andersen, fire consultant with Sweco Norge AS, the company responsible for fire safety in the building. “Mjøstårnet is one of the safest buildings along Lake Mjøsa, and can withstand even an extensive fire.

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