Africa is “betting on timber” as the continent turns to mass timber construction to meet a surge in demand for infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The push to embrace mass timber is part of a multi-billion-dollar investment into African reforestation – driven by China, Europe, and most recently, the Middle East.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Last month<\/a>, Wood Central reported that African and Middle Eastern developers were looking to cross-laminated timbers and bamboo to drive the development of future cities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same time, plans are underway for a 48-metre timber observation tower to rise over Kenya’s Maasai Mara wildlife reserve, drawing inspiration from traditional Kenyan construction techniques and materials.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, plans are afoot for a new development known as Burj Zanzibar in Fumba Town, Zanzibar, which, if constructed (in 2026), will become the world’s tallest hybrid timber structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 28-storey residential development, developed by German engineering firm CPS, is billed as Africa’s first “wooden high-rise” and will “supply safe and equitable homes for thousands of families in Tanzania and East Africa.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is part of a global push to substitute high-carbon building materials to make the construction industry greener and cleaner<\/a>, with timber replacing steel and concrete in the future of zero-carbon buildings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “About 200 years ago, everyone was building with timber; then it shifted to cement, steel, and stones,” according to Karl Kirchmayer, co-founder and managing partner at ASC Impact. “Now people are going back, especially with modern housing.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n