Plans For Revolutionary Wood High-Rise

A proposed high-rise residential building made entirely of wood could be a radical new addition to the Manhattan skyline.

Plans are underway for the building to be constructed at 475 West 18th Street in Chelsea.

Photo from SHoP Architects[/caption]The project is a collaboration between SHoP Architects, Spiritos Properties, 130 134 Holdings LLC, Arup, Icor Associates and environmental consultancy Atelier Ten.

It's one of two projects that were declared winners of the first US Tall Wood Building Prize Competition held by the US Department of Agriculture in partnership with two industry groups, Softwood Lumber Board and the Binational Softwood Lumber Council.

“The science of wood construction has come a long way in the past several decades,” SHoP principal Chris Sharples told Wall Street Journal.

Photo from SHoP Architects[/caption]He said "every element of the building, right down to the elevator core, can be constructed in wood" due to products like cross-laminated timber.

According to SHoP, the building will be more environmentally sustainable as it will not use steel or concrete which have high carbon emissions.