In these green cities, construction plans are being made for wooden residential towers! Time to move? 

Wood is hot! There is increasing use of wood in new construction because this material is better for the environment. Using wood emits much less CO2 than concrete and steel, so the city of the future is made of wood! We list the best building plans for you.

W350 Plan - Tokyo

To properly celebrate the 350th anniversary of Sumitomo Forestry, this Japanese logging company has designed a wooden skyscraper no less than 350 meters high. The building, also called the W350 Plancalled, consists of ninety percent wood! That's a whopping 185,000 cubic meters of wood. Eventually, the skyscraper will provide space for offices, housing and hotels.

Sumitomo Forestry has a long-term commitment to transforming cities into forests. The company does this by encouraging environmentally friendly building methods and designing green oases for new construction in Japanese cities. Unfortunately, it will be some time before you can admire this architectural gem in Tokyo. In fact, the wooden residential tower is scheduled to open in 2041!

HAUT - Amsterdam

The tallest wooden residential tower in the Netherlands is currently being built on the Amstel River! The building will be 73 meters high, will consist of 52 apartments from small to large, most of which have already been sold by now.

HAUT Amsterdam performs exceptionally high on sustainability and won the BREEAM Award in the residential category for it. You can still check the website for availability, but be warned: the building is not only extraordinarily sustainable, but also extraordinarily pricey.

Timber Towers - Philadelphia

To show what is possible with wood, the American design firm Hickok Cole has designed the Timber Towers. The complex consists of two sixty-two-story office buildings, connected by a walkway, and a smaller, third tower that is to include space for apartments, a school and stores.

According to one of the complex's designers, wood is the only truly sustainable building material because it is completely renewable. The design received an honorable mention from the Skyhive Skyscraper Challenge, but it remains to be seen whether any interested party will be commissioned to actually build the building in Philadelphia.

The Dutch Mountains - Eindhoven

The world's largest wooden building will be along the A2 motorway near Eindhoven starting in 2020! The Dutch Mountains will be a forerunner in technology and sustainability of no less than 440 meters long. There will be space for large and small companies, a hotel and a conference center. There will also be a huge one-hectare park in the middle of the building, which will purify the air along the highway, contributing to the air quality in the area.

The Dutch Mountains will be a self-sufficient and "smart" building where all cycles, such as waste, energy and water, will be closed. Over a hundred high-tech, applicable innovations were envisioned for the design, and the ultimate goal is for the building to be able to continuously learn and change. The opening of The Dutch Mountains is scheduled for 2021!

Fire safety of timber towers

And in case you're still wondering, "What if a fire breaks out? Then you can breathe easy, because timber towers are certainly no less fireproof than normal buildings.

This is because the wood used is thoroughly processed beforehand. Also, thick wooden beams are often used, through which the fire thus slowly penetrates. With steel, there is the danger that it will bend if a fire breaks out, and concrete can even spatter under high temperatures! Therefore: the future of architecture is wood!

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