The United States has a new center for tall timber towers – and it's not NYC or Chicago, as you might assume – but Milwaukee. The world's next tallest timber tower is due to begin construction in the Wisconsin city soon, near the current world record holder, the Ascent.
The project, named Neutral 1005 N Edison St, is being developed by the same company behind the Michael Green-designed Marcus Center tower. That building would actually be even taller once completed, however Neutral told us that it's still in the early stages of development, and there are no plans to begin construction any time soon.
The Wisconsin build will rise to a height of 375 ft (114.3 m), which is significantly taller than the Ascent's 284 ft (86.6 m). Its interior will consist of 31 of floors and 350 residences. These will be divided between studio apartments and homes with one to three bedrooms. Elsewhere in the tower will be retail space, a fitness center, health clinic, and other amenities, including lounge areas and private dining rooms.
The project will be primarily built using modern mass timber products like cross-laminated timber and glued laminated timber, though will almost certainly feature some sort of concrete reinforcement, most likely in the elevator and stair core, like the Ascent.
Boosting its sustainability credentials further, the tower is slated to receive the stringent Passive House green building certification, which requires a very high level of air-tightness and overall energy efficiency.
"The materials used to build Neutral Edison are estimated to reduce the embodied carbon footprint and energy consumption by over 45% compared to conventional buildings of the same typology and use," says Neutral's press release. "It will pursue Passive House certification following the PHIUS 2021 Core Standard, one of the leading and strictest certifications for energy-efficient buildings. Neutral Edison will also pursue Living Building Challenge 4.0 Core Certification, focused on sustainable buildings and overall resident well-being."
A groundbreaking ceremony is taking place on June 16, with construction expected to be completed sometime in 2027.
Sources: Neutral, Thornton Tomasetti