In Skelleftea, Sweden, a new 20-story skyscraper is built entirely of wood grown in nearby forests and can capture 9 million kilograms of carbon dioxide from the air around it. It’s just the latest building in Skelleftea to be made from local timber, part of a larger effort to move away from traditional construction materials, which the United Nations Environment Programme cited as being responsible for more than 38 percent of energy-related carbon emissions worldwide in 2015. Cement in particular is the largest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide globally, while wood, on the other hand, actually takes it out of the atmosphere and stores it permanently.
The new building, the Sara Cultural Centre, is now the second tallest wooden tower in the world. It also utilizes solar panels to harvest energy and has an AI system that lets it analyze its own energy needs and distribute extra to nearby buildings as needed. The cultural center includes two art galleries, six stages and a 205-room hotel, among other amenities. And while it might seem that fire safety becomes a concern when building with just wood, experts say wood burns in a predictable way, unlike a material like steel, according to Wood Magazine. Plus, proper construction and architectural segmenting, as well as systems like sprinklers, enhance fire protection.
Source: EuroNews
