March 15, 2023
Timber buildings – Cost-competitive sustainable real estate
In 2022 we released our report on timber construction titled “Timber Buildings – Truly sustainable real estate”. This demonstrated the many benefits of construction using mass timber (short for massive timber) when compared to traditional steel and concrete.
To recap, the benefits of using mass timber include:
- Energy efficiency: manufacturing mass timber materials uses significantly less energy than steel and concrete production;
- Faster construction: prefabricated timber panels enable shorter construction timetables than building with steel and concrete thereby reducing construction-based emissions;
- Less disruptive: fewer delivering trucks are needed resulting in less disruption to communities around building sites;
- Resistant: mass timber is fire-resistant and avoids moisture damage when built correctly; and
- Financially attractive: rising occupier demand for greener buildings led to a 9% rental premium for timber buildings.
This report seeks to look more closely at the amount of carbon reduction during the building development and lifecycle. It also explores how the cost implications of timber buildings compare to steel and concrete.
The full report can be found by clicking here.