World's tallest WOODEN skyscraper reaching 1,148ft will be built in Tokyo in 2041 to 'transform the city into a forest'
- The 1,148-feet (350-metre) 'W350 Project' skyscraper will house shops, homes, office spaces and a hotel
- Plans show it will have 70 stories above ground, making it the tallest building in Japan when it is completed
- It will be built using both wood and steel, with wood making up 90 per cent of the construction material
- The ultimate aim of the 'plyscraper' is to turn the Japanese capital into an environment-friendly city
Japanese architects have unveiled plans for the world's tallest wooden skyscraper.
The 1,148-feet (350-metre) tower, housing shops, homes, offices and a hotel, will become the tallest building in Japan when it is completed in 2041.
Positioned in central Tokyo, the aim of the £4.2 billion ($5.9 billion) structure is to turn the Japanese capital into an environment-friendly city and help 'transform the city into a forest', architects behind the plans said.
Japanese architects have unveiled plans for the world's tallest wooden skyscraper (artist's impression). The 1,148-feet (350-metre) tower, housing homes, offices and a hotel, will become the tallest building in Japan when it is completed in 2041
Designs for the structure were drawn up by Tokyo-based architectural firm Nikken Sikkei, but the building will be constructed by the Forestry arm of the Sumitomo Group, one of Japan's largest business conglomerates.
Currently referred to as the W350 Project, named after its height, it is not clear which wood or woods have been chosen as the building material.
The tower has 70 stories above ground and is made of a combination of wood and steel, with more than 6.5 million cubic feet (0.2 million cubic metres) of wood making up 90 per cent of the construction material.
Nikken Sekkei's plans outline a braced tube structure that is able to withstand strong winds, as well as Japan's frequent earthquakes.
As well as offices, a hotel, shops and residential units, the completed tower will feature a garden roof, balconies covered with greenery, water features and large internal open spaces filled with natural light.
Brock Commons Tallwood House, a 174-foot-high (53-metre) student accommodation tower opened at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, last autumn, holds the current record for the world's tallest primarily wooden building.
The structure (left) will stretch more than six times the height of the current tallest primarily wooden building in the world, Brock Commons Tallwood House (second from left) in Vancouver, Canada. The 174-foot-high (53-metre) student accommodation tower opened at the University of British Columbia last autumn
Positioned in central Tokyo, the aim of the £4.2 billion ($5.9 billion) structure is to turn the Japanese capital into an environment-friendly city and help 'transform the town into a forest', architects behind the plans said. It will feature a a garden roof and balconies covered with greenery (artist's impression)
As well as offices, a hotel, shops and residential units, the completed tower will feature large internal open spaces filled with natural light (artist's impression)
Currently referred to as the W350 Project, named after its height, it is not clear which wood or woods have been chosen as the building material
WHAT IS JAPAN'S W350 PROJECT?
The W350 project is a £4.2 billion ($5.9 billion) wooden skyscraper set to be built in Tokyo, Japan.
At 1,148 feet (350 metres) tall, the tower will be both the tallest building in Japan and the highest wooden structure in the world when it opens in 2041.
With 70 stories above ground, it will be made of a combination of wood and steel, with more than 6.5 million cubic feet (0.2 million cubic metres) of wood making up 90 per cent of the construction material.
As well as offices, a hotel, shops and residential units, the tower will feature a garden roof, balconies covered with greenery, water features and large internal open spaces filled with natural light.
The W350 project (artist's impression) is a wooden skyscraper set to be built in Tokyo, Japan, in 2041. At 1,148 feet (350 metres) tall, the tower will be both the tallest building in Japan and the highest wooden structure in the world when it is completed
Designs for the structure were drawn up by Tokyo-based architectural firm Nikken Sikkei, but the building will be constructed by the Forestry arm of the Sumitomo Group, one of Japan's largest business conglomerates.
The aim of the structure is to turn the Japanese capital into an environment-friendly city and help 'transform the town into a forest', according to the architects behind the plans.
It is not yet clear what type of wood will be used in construction of the building, though most large wooden structures today use cross-laminated timber, an engineered wood system with the strength and stability of steel. The 24-storey HoHo Tower is set to top this when it opens later this year in Vienna, Austria, with the structure set to reach 275 feet (84 metres) high upon completion.
Housing office units, apartments and a hotel, 76 per cent of the building will be constructed from wood, saving 2,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over similar structures built out of steel and concrete.
A rising number of architectural firms across the globe are turning to wood as their primary construction material, though few match the ambitions of the W350 Project.
The tower has 70 stories above ground and is made of a combination of wood and steel, with more than 6.5 million cubic feet (0.2 million cubic metres) of wood making up 90 per cent of the construction material
A rising number of architectural firms across the globe are turning to wood as their primary construction material, though few match the ambitions of the W350 Project
Nikken Sekkei's plans outline a braced tube structure that is able to withstand strong winds, as well as Japan's frequent earthquakes
'New technological advances with construction techniques and composite wood make this a very exciting area at the moment', Riccardo Tossani, who designed a retirement home on Mount Fuji that is the current largest habitable wood structure in Japan, told the Telegraph.
'It is in many ways the ideal material because it is a renewable resource as well as being somewhat recyclable.'
Before construction of the W350 Project begins, Sumitomo Forestry Co must first traverse stringent Japanese fire regulations.
Despite relying on wood to build houses for generations, Japan has largely banned the material in construction because of its flammability - a weakness laid bare by firebomb raids on major cities during World War II.
Despite relying on wood to build houses for generations, Japan has largely banned the material in construction because of its flammability. Officials have begun to loosen these regulations, allowing Japanese architects to explore wooden designs
But officials have recently begun to loosen these regulations: Japan's new national stadium currently under construction in central Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics Games uses wood in the design.
'For Japan, it is an excellent building material because it is readily available, it is pliable and appropriate for a seismic environment,' Mr Tossani said.
'Wood gives or flexes with movement in the ground or absorbs movement in its joints; concrete is rigid and does not have that flexibility, so it can crumble'.
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