Provided by nature, wood is renewable, non-toxic, strong, lightweight, flexible, affordable, beautiful, retains carbon and the list goes on.
Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) has been hailed as the most important building product of the last 100 years. Constructed of planks of second-growth lumber, laminated in layers at right angles to each other and glued together under great pressure to create panels up to 18’ x 60’ x 2’ thick, CLT is so strong, earthquake and fire-proof that it can used as a substitute for Concrete in buildings up to 20 stories!
Concrete is responsible for 8% of the world’s carbon emissions, replacing it with a material as sustainable as wood is a major step towards a cleaner environment.
CLT was invented in Switzerland in the 90’s and has been used extensively in Europe and now has reached North America.
A 9-story building has been built in London and the race is on, an 11-storey completed in Australia, 12- storeys under construction in Norway, 15-storeys planned in Italy, and the world’s highest wood building, 18-stories, planned for the University of British Columbia in Canada.
Previously, all CLT buildings in North America utilized imported CLT panels and L41 has the distinction of being the first building in North America to be built entirely of locally produced CLT panels.