Mass timber is a material-specific word combination referring to large wood products. The terms mass timber and engineered wood are often used interchangeably. Both are loosely defined as being comprised of solid wood pieces, typically panelized and always engineered to meet and exceed the requirements of the bearing system to which they'll be applied. Glulam, or glued laminated timber, is a type of structural engineered wood composed of layers of dimensional lumber laminations bonded together with structural adhesives. Ascent is categorized as a mass timber building because its primary load-bearing structure will be engineered wood. The above photo shows glued laminated timber that has been factory assembled by Wiehag Timber Construction using CNC-controlled systems according to the structural requirements for Ascent.
Wiehag's engineering teams specialize in mass timber construction. They use raw, sustainably sourced wood pressed into cross-laminated panels and beams. The steel connection solutions are engineered to exceed structural requirements. As a result, finished glulam beams have a high load-bearing capacity. Together with Korb + Associates Architects and Thornton Tomasetti, Wiehag was able to reconcile form and function and provide structure and beauty for the Ascent tower. The first shipments of engineered wood left Austria last week. The mass timber for New Land Enterprises' Ascent MKE project is being procured and managed by Swinerton Mass Timber. Shipments will come to the U.S. through ports in Newark, New Jersey or Montreal. Then they'll go by rail to Chicago, where they'll undergo a customs review before being trucked to Port Milwaukee. We're looking forward to seeing the first shipments in Milwaukee in early May, just about three weeks before finding their permanent home at the start of mass timber construction for Ascent.
Photorealistic renderings courtesy of Korb + Associates
Date: Apr 7, 2021 | Author: Tracy Lisowe
