Dive summary:

• Modeling work done by a team of designers and engineers at Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) concludes that a 42-story building that uses mass timber along with some concrete and steel for its structural integrity is feasible and would reduce the carbon footprint to 25% to 40% of a conventionally built building.
• Called the Timber Tower Research Project and supported by the lumber industry, the SOM design is intended to open the way for thinking beyond the current limit of four stories for wood-frame construction.
• The report from SOM, which was the firm that persuaded Chicago regulators that a 100-story building was possible, says it factored in constructability, cost and fire protection, but adds that more research and physical testing are needed.

From the article:

“The wood solution for sustainable tall buildings is attractive, but also requires care from the engineering community since few contemporary precedents exists,” according to the report’s executive summary. ...