It comes as Wood Central reports that mass timber demand across the US could grow between 25 and 40 fold<\/a>, primarily fueled by hybrid high-rise construction in the American South and Pacific North West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study confirms that ‘intermediate high-rise’ is the sweet spot for timber-based construction systems, adding that buildings “are often underbuilt in urban areas due to an unfortunate intersection of construction code and code requirements.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding that “when factoring in cost savings from the reduced schedules associated with using prefabricated mass timber, combined with an improved material supply chain, an 18-storey residential building built using a hybrid of mass timber and concrete could cost $74.45 per square foot…(compared) to $71.09 per square foot for concrete.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n “While slightly more expensive… it’s a competitive price that may influence developers to think twice about the materials they use in their next project, especially to differentiate their produce in a competitive leasing market,” the study co-authors said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amongst the key findings, it found that hybrid timber buildings could store up to 3,350 metric tones of CO2 across its useable life, which is “the equivalent to the carbon sequestered by 4,000 acres of US forest in one year, or eliminating 745 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles from the road.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n It also emphasises the biophilic benefits associated with timber buildings\u2014with Hines Global Real Estate leading the charge to use timber “as a green magnet for tenants”<\/a>\u2014and the potential for smaller high-rise buildings to address the housing squeeze across the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Increasingly, asset managers are turning to smaller-scale “timber builds” to reduce risk across commercial, residential and industrial portfolios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Joe](\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Joe_Biden_49536511763-1024x682.jpg-1.webp\")