The Zero-Carbon Hybrid Future of Tall Timber

A patent-pending Hybrid Timber Floor System (HTFS), with a prefabricated composite floor panel, offers significant advantages over traditional building technology. It is capable of clear floor spans of up to 12 meters; reduced structural floor thickness; higher and more consistent quality; reduced construction time; greater occupant safety; more exposed wood; and superior sustainability attributes. The HTFS is the starting point for a supertall zero-carbon hybrid timber building prototype design, with a concrete core and diagrid steel external structure. The prototype leverages energy efficiency, smart technologies, façade-integrated photovoltaics (PV), and a district energy cogeneration plant combined with an algae bioreactor, to achieve zero operational carbon on-site. Excess energy is provided to the surrounding neighborhood in a net(work)-zero carbon strategy, and a vision for future zero-carbon embodied energy is also outlined. This supertall prototype is a response to the oft-posed question: Can this type of construction ever be truly sustainable?. © 2021, Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. All rights reserved.