Wooden High-Rise Planned for Stockholm

Via C.F. Moller

By Penny Munoz

Scandinavian firm C.F. Moller has teamed up with DinellJohansson for a project that will reveal the tallest wooden building in the world. Receiving much attention in the media already, the proposal for the Stockholm design has been awarded the winner of the HSB Stockholm architectural competition.

The housing design competition accepts three competing designs, allowing for the completion of only one. As the winner, this timber-framed skyscraper will break international standards by 2023—just in time for the HSB’s (Sweden’s largest housing association) 100th anniversary!

Via C.F. Moller

This “ultra-modern residential high-rise” was designed for Stockholm’s city centre in Hagastaden. It will accent the skyline with 34 storeys of state-of-the-art, environmentally conscious technology. According to the team at C.F. Moller, a material such as wood was the obvious choice for an innovative development like this because “it is an environmentally friendly and durable material, which creates a comfortable and healthy indoor climate and also constitutes a very efficient protection against fire.” In greater detail, the architects explained that for such a strong and fire resistant material, wood has very low weight. Skeptics were put at ease as C.F. Moller continued to prove that while steel and concrete can quickly catch and spread fire, wood, which is 15 percent water, will only burn after its water content has evaporated.

The proposal outlines solid wood pillars and beams with wooden walls, ceilings and window frames inside apartments that will be visible from the outside, through luxurious, long windows. The architects emphasized social and environmental sustainability as one of the core elements in the proposal, incorporating energy-saving, glass covered verandas for every apartment and solar panels strong enough to power the entire building.

Via C.F. Moller

The building will be located in Stockholm’s downtown core, with access to a market square, fitness centre and bike storage. In addition, the building itself will offer residents a street-level café and childcare facility. Families and students will be accommodated with spacious urban villas, lofts and penthouses. Spread across three wooden structures, this multi-storey housing complex is expected to stand as a new landmark in this new city quarter.

As development flourishes in this area, with four other buildings in city plans, architects working on this project say that the complex will “also give the city new visual experiences including its timber structure, green rooftop terraces and a playground on one of the stories, as well as a dynamic, varied façade that reflects the various types of flats behind it.”