Eyeing trees
for skyscrapers
There are an estimated 19.7 million acres of forest land in Mississippi, and annual sales of timber exceeds a billion dollars. Counting jobs in harvesting and wood-related industries, forestry’s impact on the state’s economy is more than $17 billion a year.
So, innovations to use more wood products is welcomed news in this state which depends heavily on jobs related to forestry.
The CBS “Sunday Morning” show recently reported on a move to construct skinny skyscrapers for residents in New York City and possibly using wood in future high-rise construction.
New skyscrapers going up in Manhattan are thinner and less bulky than the Empire State Building and other older construction. “These ‘super-talls,’ as they're called, will eventually make Manhattan look more like a pin cushion, changing the skyline one really expensive condo at a time,” CBS reported.
But, the report continued, there is an environmental cost to this construction. The production of cement and steel for these buildings emits carbon into the atmosphere contributing to global warming.
Trees, on the other hand, take carbon out of the atmosphere as they grow. But typically wood buildings do not exceed three or four stories in height.
A special mill in Oregon is turning out a new kind of “green” high-rise building block, according to the CBS report. “It's going to change the way we build here in the U.S.,” said John Redfield, the chief operating officer at that mill, D.R. Johnson. It's the only lumber mill in the U.S. certified to make cross laminated timber (CLT) by gluing together layer after layer of wood planks at 90 degree angles, then pressing it all into a thick panel.
The manufacturers claim CLT is as strong as steel and up to five times lighter than concrete, making the panels perfect to build a high-rise.
Meanwhile in Washington, U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., is co-sponsoring legislation to increase research and development of wood products that could lead to construction of taller wood buildings. The Timber Innovation Act of 2016 (S.2892) would authorize a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant program to spur research and develop wood products technologies that can be used in engineering and building systems. The program would focus on discovering innovations that would permit the use of wood products to construct buildings taller than 85 feet, roughly seven stories.
“The ability to use wood products beyond more traditional construction projects could have multiple benefits. Innovation by Mississippi State University and other institutions could help create new markets for Mississippi timber growers,” Cochran said.
For many in Mississippi, from one end of the state to the other, this eventually could turn out to be better than a tire factory in Hinds County.
