Tallest wooden skyscraper set for Tokyo in 2041

Tokyo : Japanese architects have unveiled plans for the world’s tallest wooden skyscraper.

The 1,148-feet (350-metre) tower, housing shops, homes, offices and a hotel, will become the tallest building in Japan when it is completed in 2041.

Positioned in central Tokyo, the aim of the £4.2 billion ($5.9 billion) structure is to turn the Japanese capital into an environment-friendly city and help ‘transform the city into a forest’, architects behind the plans said.

Designs for the structure were drawn up by Tokyo-based architectural firm Nikken Sikkei, but the building will be constructed by the Forestry arm of the Sumitomo Group, one of Japan’s largest business conglomerates.

Currently referred to as the W350 Project, named after its height, it is not clear which woods have been chosen as the building material.

The tower has 70 stories above ground and is made of a combination of wood and steel, with more than 6.5 million cubic feet (0.2 million cubic metres) of wood making up 90 per cent of the construction material.

Nikken Sekkei’s plans outline a braced tube structure that is able to withstand strong winds, as well as Japan’s frequent earthquakes.

As well as offices, a hotel, shops and residential units, the completed tower will feature a garden roof, balconies covered with greenery, water features and large internal open spaces filled with natural light. 

Brock Commons Tallwood House, a 174-foot-high (53-metre) student accommodation tower opened at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, last autumn, holds the current record for the world’s tallest primarily wooden building.