Identifying Urban Wood Construction Trends, Global Tall Timber Building Development, and the Role of Wood Promotion Policies
This work studies the presence and evolution of wood construction in urban environments, using Santiago province in Chile as a relevant comparative case. The first part of the study analyzes the spatial and temporal distribution of wood-based structures in Santiago, showing that although wood has hi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Buildings |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/9/1502 |
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| author | Felipe Victorero Waldo Bustamante |
| author_facet | Felipe Victorero Waldo Bustamante |
| author_sort | Felipe Victorero |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This work studies the presence and evolution of wood construction in urban environments, using Santiago province in Chile as a relevant comparative case. The first part of the study analyzes the spatial and temporal distribution of wood-based structures in Santiago, showing that although wood has historically been used in low-rise housing, its presence has declined significantly due to increasing urban densification and the widespread adoption of materials like concrete for taller buildings. Currently, only 5.4% of Santiago’s buildings use wood structures, with their presence notably decreasing in the high-density municipalities of the city. Recent construction trends in Santiago show that the average building height is 12 stories, with timber buildings not exceeding 6 stories, despite the absence of specific restrictions in the building code for tall timber structures. The second part of this study contrasts these trends with the global development of tall timber buildings (six stories or more), which total approximately 300 worldwide as of 2024. The leading cities include Paris (with over 35 buildings) and London (over 17), followed by Zürich, Vancouver, and Portland. This study highlights the pivotal role of wood promotion policies in enabling this global expansion. Finally, a five-phase classification is proposed to evaluate the evolution of tall timber construction in a given city, emphasizing the role of public policy in enabling large-scale adoption, especially for cities such as Santiago. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ea13ec5acd46434ca376b33d18287c25 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2075-5309 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Buildings |
| spelling | doaj-art-ea13ec5acd46434ca376b33d18287c252025-08-20T01:49:16ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092025-04-01159150210.3390/buildings15091502Identifying Urban Wood Construction Trends, Global Tall Timber Building Development, and the Role of Wood Promotion PoliciesFelipe Victorero0Waldo Bustamante1School of Architecture, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, El Comendador 1916, Santiago 7520245, ChileSchool of Architecture, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, El Comendador 1916, Santiago 7520245, ChileThis work studies the presence and evolution of wood construction in urban environments, using Santiago province in Chile as a relevant comparative case. The first part of the study analyzes the spatial and temporal distribution of wood-based structures in Santiago, showing that although wood has historically been used in low-rise housing, its presence has declined significantly due to increasing urban densification and the widespread adoption of materials like concrete for taller buildings. Currently, only 5.4% of Santiago’s buildings use wood structures, with their presence notably decreasing in the high-density municipalities of the city. Recent construction trends in Santiago show that the average building height is 12 stories, with timber buildings not exceeding 6 stories, despite the absence of specific restrictions in the building code for tall timber structures. The second part of this study contrasts these trends with the global development of tall timber buildings (six stories or more), which total approximately 300 worldwide as of 2024. The leading cities include Paris (with over 35 buildings) and London (over 17), followed by Zürich, Vancouver, and Portland. This study highlights the pivotal role of wood promotion policies in enabling this global expansion. Finally, a five-phase classification is proposed to evaluate the evolution of tall timber construction in a given city, emphasizing the role of public policy in enabling large-scale adoption, especially for cities such as Santiago.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/9/1502urban wood constructionwood policiestall wood buildings |
| spellingShingle | Felipe Victorero Waldo Bustamante Identifying Urban Wood Construction Trends, Global Tall Timber Building Development, and the Role of Wood Promotion Policies Buildings urban wood construction wood policies tall wood buildings |
| title | Identifying Urban Wood Construction Trends, Global Tall Timber Building Development, and the Role of Wood Promotion Policies |
| title_full | Identifying Urban Wood Construction Trends, Global Tall Timber Building Development, and the Role of Wood Promotion Policies |
| title_fullStr | Identifying Urban Wood Construction Trends, Global Tall Timber Building Development, and the Role of Wood Promotion Policies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identifying Urban Wood Construction Trends, Global Tall Timber Building Development, and the Role of Wood Promotion Policies |
| title_short | Identifying Urban Wood Construction Trends, Global Tall Timber Building Development, and the Role of Wood Promotion Policies |
| title_sort | identifying urban wood construction trends global tall timber building development and the role of wood promotion policies |
| topic | urban wood construction wood policies tall wood buildings |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/15/9/1502 |
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