PLP Architecture proposes 80-storey timber tower for Barbican

A research team involving PLP Architecture, the firm behind the new tower at 22 Bishopsgate, has presented London mayor Boris Johnson with conceptual plans for an 80-storey, 300m high wooden tower for the Barbican complex.

Researchers from Cambridge University’s Department of Architecture are working with architect Lee Polisano’s PLP Architecture and Cambridge-based structural engineer Smith & Wallwork on the future development of tall timber buildings in central London.

The research project, which has received funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, is also investigating other potential benefits, such as reduced costs and improved construction timescales, increased fire resistance, and significant reduction in the overall weight of buildings.

The conceptual proposals would create more than 1,000 new residential units in a 1 million sq ft mixed-use tower and mid-rise terraces in the Barbican, central London.

Dr Michael Ramage, director of Cambridge’s Centre for Natural Material Innovation, said: “The Barbican was designed in the middle of the last century to bring residential living into the city of London – and it was successful. We’ve put our proposals on the Barbican as a way to imagine what the future of construction could look like in the 21st century.

“If London is going to survive it needs to increasingly densify. One way is taller buildings. We believe people have a greater affinity for taller buildings in natural materials rather than steel and concrete towers.

1,000 new residential units in a 1 million sq ft mixed-use tower and mid-rise terraces in the Barbican, central London

“The fundamental premise is that timber and other natural materials are vastly underused and we don’t give them nearly enough credit. Nearly every historic building, from King’s College Chapel to Westminster Hall, has made extensive use of timber.”

Kevin Flanagan, partner at PLP Architecture said: “We now live predominantly in cities and so the proposals have been designed to improve our wellbeing in an urban context. Timber buildings have the potential architecturally to create a more pleasing, relaxed, sociable and creative urban experience.

“Our firm is currently designing many of London’s tall buildings, and the use of timber could transform the way we build in this city. We are excited to be working with the university and with Smith & Wallwork on this ground-breaking design and engineering-based research.”

According to the team, just as major innovations in steel, glass and concrete revolutionised buildings in the 19th and 20th centuries, creating Joseph Paxton’s Crystal Palace and the Parisian arcades described by Walter Benjamin, innovations in timber construction could lead to entirely new experiences of the city in the 21st century.

The research therefor looks towards creating new design potentials with timber buildings, rather than simply copying the forms of steel and concrete construction.

At present, the world’s tallest timber building is a 14-storey apartment block in Bergen, Norway. The proposals presented to Johnson included concepts for a timber tower nearly 300m high, which would make it the second tallest building in London after The Shard.

Dr Ramage added: “We’ve designed the architecture and engineering and demonstrated it will stand, but this is at a scale no one has attempted to build before. We are developing a new understanding of primary challenges in structure and construction. There is a lot of work ahead, but we are confident of meeting all the challenges before us.”

The team involved in the project said the proposed building would eventually meet or exceed every existing fire regulation currently in place for steel and concrete buildings.

The designs for the Barbican is the first in a series of timber skyscrapers developed by Cambridge University in association with globally renowned architects and structural engineers with funding from the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.