City dwellers could soon become used to seeing more and more tall buildings made of timber. Engineered wood like cross-laminated timber (CLT) is being increasingly adopted by environmentally-minded architects. Some of the best and most experimental examples are on display in Roca London Gallery.
‘Timber Rising: Vertical Visions for the Cities of Tomorrow’, which runs till 19 May, features live projects like Waugh Thistleton’s Dalston Lane apartment block in London – the world’s biggest CLT building to date – and proposals such as Michael Green Architects’ Parisian tower.
According to the show’s curators, engineered wood has the potential to answer many urgent urban needs: it would be a quick way of increasing housing stock; it’s sustainable; and studies show living in a timber building improves well-being. What’s more, being light-weight brings a myriad of benefits. It lends itself to urban densification as wooden structures can even be built on top of existing buildings, and it can be used on brownfield sites. Now that there’s a critical mass of knowledge and an understanding of how to build with wood, more and more architects and engineers are adopting it.
The show features live projects, like Waugh Thistleton’s Dalston Lane apartment block in London and future proposals, such as Michael Green Architect’s Parisian tower. Photography: Charlotte King Photography
Co-curator Clare Farrow believes that these new materials will drive new forms of architecture. ‘The first CLT buildings resembled existing structures, but now architects are envisaging completely different types that you couldn’t do with concrete and steel.’
Examples of this are Hermann Kamte & Associates’ latticed Wooden Tower concept for Lagos in Nigeria, PLP’s 80-storey Oakwood timber tower proposal for London’s Barbican, and Michael Green’s proposal for a timber tower in Paris.
These 21st century exhibits will sit alongside the long history of building with wood. Co-curator, the aptly-named Eva Woode, points out that that it’s not a new idea to glue together pieces of wood, it was happening with glulam in the UK from the late 19th century. ‘But now the need is more urgent.’
Cross-laminate timber has the potential to answer many urban needs, including enabling quick turnaround for residential projects, being sustainable and improving well-being.
Waugh Thistleton’s residential build on Dalston Lane in London.
Abebe Court Tower in Lagos, by Hermann Kamte & Associates. Courtesy of Hermann Kamte & Assiociates
Baobab in Paris, by Michael Green Architecture. Courtesy of Michael Green Architecture
Skellefteå Kulturhus, by White Arkitekter. Courtesy of White Arkitekter
Treet, by Bergen and Omegn Building Society.
Murray Grove, by Waugh Thistleton.
INFORMATION
‘Timber Rising: Vertical Visions for the Cities of Tomorrow’ is on view until 19 May 2018. For more information, visit the Roca London Gallery website
ADDRESS
Roca London Gallery
Station Court
Townmead Road
Fulham
London SW6 2PY
-
Inside Miu Miu’s ‘proudly modern and minimal’ new London storeWallpaper* takes a tour of Miu Miu’s newly refurbished New Bond Street store, which is designed as a gathering place for the Italian house’s ‘spirited, intelligent, thoughtful community’
-
Herzog & de Meuron are renovating New York's iconic Breuer Building. Here's a first look at the renderingsThis fall, the brutalist icon will be re-opening as the New York headquarters for Sotheby's.
-
Eleven great things to see at 3 Days of Design 2025The scale and scope of 3 Days of Design has expanded dramatically since its inception 12 years ago. Here, we share our pick of standout exhibitions and events from the upcoming edition (18-20 June 2025)
-
Lego and Serpentine celebrate World Play Day with a new pavilionLego and Serpentine have just unveiled their Play Pavilion; a colourful new structure in Kensington Gardens in London and a gesture that celebrates World Play Day (11 June)
-
Inside Abbey Road's refresh: touring the legendary studio's new interiorAbbey Road gets an interior refresh by Threefold Architects, bringing the legendary London recording studio in tune with the 21st century
-
The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready to visit, ‘an exhibition you can use’The Serpentine Pavilion 2025 is ready for its public opening on 6 June; we toured the structure and spoke to its architect, Marina Tabassum
-
A meticulously crafted artist’s space in east London evokes the area’s long creative historyMaich Swift Architects’ artist’s space has radically reconfigured a Victorian terraced house, transforming it into a contemporary live/work interior
-
Welcome to Omved Gardens, north London’s hidden green oasisThis secret space in Highgate is relaunching as a vibrant community hub with new spaces, activities and exhibitions
-
What is eco-brutalism? Inside the green monoliths of the movementThe juxtaposition of stark concrete and tumbling greenery is eminently Instagrammable, but how does this architectural movement address the sustainability issues associated with brutalism?
-
This contemporary cabin cantilevers over a Scottish lochRock Cove, Cameron Webster Architects’ contemporary cabin in Argyll, Scotland, makes the most of its wild setting
-
Innovative coastal garden turns heads at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower ShowLandscape Designer Nigel Dunnett’s ‘Hospitalfield Arts Garden’ at Chelsea Flower Show 2025 has been making waves with its progressive approach to sustainable landscape and planting design
