News
Dialog unveils 105-storey hybrid timber prototype
Article by Don Wall for The Daily Commerical News
Article by Don Wall for The Daily Commerical News
DIALOG — Contributors to Dialog’s tall timber prototype project included EllisDon, RWDI and Pond Tech.
Thanks to a patent-pending hybrid timber floor system developed by the architectural firm Dialog, it is now possible for mass timber structures to enter the
supertall division of highrise construction.How tall? One hundred and five storeys, or 460 metres high, says Craig Applegath, founding principal at Dialog.He
led a dozen designers from his firm and a team of collaborators from EllisDon, RWDI and Pond Tech to create a zero carbon hybrid timber tower
prototype.“The most important thing is not its height, the most important thing is to demonstrate clearly that you can use mass timber in a very tall building
and just as importantly that you can have a zero carbon tall building,” Applegath explained recently.
DIALOG — Dialog’s hybrid timber tower prototype was created, says company founder Craig Appelgath, to answer this question: “How can we design a ‘supertall’ building that maximizes the overall use of sustainably harvested wood in high-rise construction in the most cost efficient, energy efficient and elegant manner, and also has a positive impact on human well-being, and the well-being of the environment?”
Asked why the specific height, he said, “I wouldn’t be getting calls if it was 40 storeys.”The idea for the project came two years ago when a group of partners
at Dialog were brainstorming during a company retreat.Applegath is chair of the Mass Timber Institute and the firm is a supporter of Community Forests
International, which advocates for sustainable harvesting of trees.The partners were noting that timber in cross-laminated timber (CLT) and other forms is
suitable for residential construction but at greater heights it’s problematic because if used for the frame of a building, more and more has to be used to
ensure structural adequacy.As well, given that the maximum length the product can be used at is around 30 feet, it can’t be used for commercial structures
DIALOG
The hybrid system that was developed includes a combination of wood, concrete and steel and offers open spans and fire safety so it can be integrated into
any building typology.EllisDon also had a whole team helping on the project, Applegath said, involved in construction logistics and cost analysis. They
determined it was feasible to use sustainably harvested wood that would be manufactured offsite, creating 40-foot hybrid floor slabs that would fit onto a
flatbed.“It is much faster, so you get speed, and you get fabrication in a factory, so you can speed it up there. There is less labour and the cost differential
between the hybrid timber floor and the steel and concrete is not that great. We found it was approximately commensurate with a steel and concrete floor
