Recently, Vancouver architect, Michael Green, issued a report entitled Tall Wood, arguing that skyscrapers and other tall buildings should use more wood as a primary construction material. His argument is that wood is up to the task, is less polluting, and is more environmentally sustainable than the materials currently used. Green’s (2012) buildings would employ “massive timber” elements such as cross laminated timber, laminated strand lumber, and laminated veneer lumber. Green is not suggesting that these tall building be of wood only. Rather, he is arguing that mass timber be integrated with other commonly-used structural materials such as concrete and steel.
