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Planning authorities in the City of London are considering relaxing rules over very tall wooden buildings so that new builds in the Square Mile have a reduced ecological impact.
The news arrives after a Japanese company has revealed its plans to construct the world’s highest wooden building in Tokyo. Not yet, though. Sumitomo Forestry Co aims to complete the building by 2041, which will be the company’s 350th anniversary. It’s intended to be 70 storeys high, with a budget of around £4 billion.
Back in 2019, plans were announced for Oakwood Tower, aka the ‘wooden Shard’, a London skyscraper that would be the second-tallest building in the city. Although tall wooden buildings are common in Scandinavia and other parts of Europe, they have never been popular in London, and local planning regulations have contributed to their non-adoption in the capital, along with fears about their safety and potential risk of fire. However, their champions claim that there is no greater risk of flammability with a wooden-framed skyscraper than any other kind, and that their carbon footprint is considerably smaller than an equivalent building made of steel and concrete.
In an article in the Telegraph, Stuart Baillie, head of planning at estate agency Knight Frank, said: ‘The concept of a wooden skyscraper is a really interesting one, and it’s something we’re going to have to think seriously about if we want to significantly lower the carbon footprint of tall buildings in the future.’
The capital’s skyline could be set to change all over again.
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