A new generation of timber skyscrapers is challenging the long-standing dominance of steel and concrete in urban construction, with architects and developers increasingly exploring engineered wood as a way to reduce the environmental impact of rapidly expanding cities.
At the centre of this experiment is Mjøstårnet, an 18-storey, 84-metre-high tower on the shores of Lake Mjøsa in the Norwegian town of Brumunddal. The building, which contains offices, apartments and a 72-room hotel, is regarded as the world’s tallest all-timber skyscraper. Its structure demonstrates how advanced wood-processing technology can be used to create buildings that were once considered possible only with steel and reinforced concrete.
Unlike conventional timber construction, the tower uses mass timber, including glulam, or glued laminated timber. Large sections of wood are precision-cut and bonded together to form exceptionally strong columns, beams and trusses. The technology allows engineers to produce structural components with considerable strength while retaining the natural characteristics of wood.
The project was conceived by property developer Arthur Buchardt, who grew up in Brumunddal. Inspired partly by growing concerns over climate change following the 2015 Paris climate agreement, Buchardt asked architects whether it was possible to construct a high-rise building primarily from wood. His aim was not simply to create another tall building but to demonstrate that large-scale construction could rely less heavily on materials with high environmental costs.
The idea comes as the construction sector faces mounting scrutiny over its contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. The built environment is estimated to account for about 37% of global emissions when construction and the energy required to operate buildings are taken together. Concrete manufacturing alone contributes roughly 7-8% of global emissions, while demand for concrete and the sand needed to produce it continues to rise.
Timber offers a different equation because growing trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and retain much of that carbon after being converted into building material. According to the analysis behind the project, constructing a typical mid-rise building from steel and concrete can generate around 1,500 to 2,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide during construction, whereas an equivalent timber structure can store hundreds of tonnes of carbon.
However, the shift towards timber construction is not without challenges. Mjøstårnet cost about £100 million, making it considerably more expensive than a comparable steel-and-concrete structure. Supporters argue that conventional construction costs often fail to account for environmental damage and the health consequences associated with pollution and resource extraction. As governments and consumers increasingly demand information about the carbon footprint of buildings, the economics of timber construction could change.
Engineers also had to overcome technical difficulties. Because timber structures are significantly lighter than concrete and steel buildings, tall wooden towers can experience greater movement in strong winds. To improve comfort for occupants, concrete was added to some upper-floor decks to provide additional weight and reduce the building’s sway.
Fire safety was another major concern. Engineers subjected glulam components to rigorous testing and found that although the timber burns and develops a charred outer layer, that layer can protect the wood underneath and allow structural members to retain their strength. The building has subsequently secured insurance from Norway’s largest insurance company, which also occupies office space in the tower.
Construction methods also point towards a potentially faster way of assembling tall buildings. Hundreds of timber components for Mjøstårnet were cut and shaped to millimetre accuracy at a nearby factory before being transported to the site. The pieces were then assembled floor by floor using a tower crane, with the structure advancing at nearly one floor a week and without conventional external scaffolding. The approach has led to comparisons with a giant flat-pack construction system.
The sustainability argument, however, comes with an important qualification: building more timber towers requires more trees. More than 16,000 spruce and pine trees were harvested to provide the material for Mjøstårnet. Environmental groups have warned that rising demand for mass timber could encourage shorter logging cycles or more intensive forest clearance if expansion is not carefully managed.
Norwegian timber producers argue that responsible forestry can make wood a renewable construction resource. In the region surrounding Brumunddal, industry representatives say harvesting remains below annual forest growth and that more trees are planted than are removed. But experts acknowledge that such calculations depend heavily on local forest conditions and sustainable management practices.
The experiment in Norway is already being followed by projects elsewhere. Plans for large timber developments are emerging across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Stockholm Wood City, for instance, is planned as a 250,000-square-metre neighbourhood incorporating homes, offices, shops and apartments built largely from timber. Projects in Switzerland and Western Australia are also pushing wooden construction towards heights of 100 metres and beyond.
Japan has announced an even more ambitious proposal. Sumitomo Forestry is planning a 350-metre wooden skyscraper, expected around 2041, which would become the tallest timber building in the world and potentially the tallest building of any kind in Japan.
The growing interest in timber reflects a broader question facing the construction industry: how can cities continue to expand without intensifying the extraction of finite resources and the emissions associated with conventional building materials? Wooden skyscrapers are unlikely to eliminate concrete and steel altogether, particularly for foundations, infrastructure and certain structural requirements. But they could reduce the quantities needed and offer cities another route towards lower-carbon construction.
At the same time, climate change itself is altering the forests that make the timber revolution possible. Norway is experiencing changes in its forest environment, including rising treelines, more landslides and wildfires, while warmer conditions are allowing new insects and pests such as spruce beetles to spread. This means that the future of timber construction will ultimately depend not only on engineering and architecture but also on the ability to protect and sustainably manage forests.
Mjøstårnet therefore represents more than a striking wooden skyscraper on a Norwegian lakeshore. It is an experiment in whether the materials traditionally associated with forests can become part of the infrastructure of modern cities. Its success could encourage a shift from buildings that rely predominantly on extracted minerals towards structures that use renewable biological materials, provided forests are managed carefully enough to keep pace with demand.
