Wood you believe it?  Fraser & Partners plans world’s tallest hybrid timber tower

In Australia, architecture studio Fraser & Partners has unveiled a design for the world’s tallest hybrid timber residential development. At nearly 190 meters tall, Fraser & Partners said the Perth tower, called C6, will set a “new benchmark in height for mass timber.”

C6 will edge out height ambitions for planned hybrid towers in Sydney and Switzerland, which are designed to reach 180 and 100 meters, respectively. Currently, the tallest existing hybrid tower is located in Wisconsin and measures 86.6 meters.

C6 will be 42% timber, a figure that includes cross-laminated timber floors and glued laminated timber beams.

“To get to 189.1 meters we relied on the hybrid structure model, using concrete where it was the most efficient and required for gravity loads and lateral stability at this height – in the core and the columns – and using timber where it was more efficient than using concrete, the horizontal structure being the floors and beams,” Fraser & Partners director Reade Dixon tells dezeen. “At this height, typical superstructure design was used, such as concrete outrigger walls at three different locations in the tower to deal with lateral loading and reduce core and column sizes,” he added. “A steel diagrid was also used to further assist with bracing requirements.”