LP^® SolidStart LSL for Tall Wood Building

Architect Michael Green, known for spear-heading the tall wood architecture movement, believes that we’re about to enter the golden age of engineered wood.

In an interview with WoodSolutions.com he says that the heyday of concrete construction peaked with famed architect Le Corbusier around 1930 and that the steel era reached its zenith with architect Mies Van Der Rohe around 1950. Now it’s time for engineered wood to take center stage.

One product he’s spoken highly of is laminated strand lumber (LSL).

“We used jumbo sheets of LSL to construct a large building very quickly,” Green told WoodSolutions.com. “That was the North Vancouver City Hall project, where we cross-laminated three sheets measuring 12 x 4 meters to create a beautiful wood structure that is also exposed as its ceiling.”

Green feels that architects have much to learn from the past. For example, the largest built space in the U.S. in 1900 was the timber barn on the Vanderbilt family farm in Vermont. He also points to the longevity of “mass timber” buildings, like the eleven-story wooden Church of Transfiguration in Russia that was built in 1714 and is still standing. 

Green is not alone in his advocacy for tall wood building. We recently covered the International Code Council’s new Tall Wood Ad Hoc Committee, which includes manufactures, architects, engineers and code officials.

With its strength, efficiency, versatility and sustainability, we’re not surprised Green is opting for LSL in tall wood structures. LP is proud to be the leader in strand board technology and we’re excited to see architects finding the value in engineered wood for these magnificent, tall structures. To learn more about our LP^® SolidStart LSL, visit: www.lpcorp.com