Wood in the City - Multi Family Housing

Wood in the City builds off of research done in "The Plantation Games" and applies those methods to a case study in New York City. This project looks at the woodshed of New England within a 250 mile radius from New York City. The context of the project understands that using solid-wood construction for mid-rise buildings create architectures with lower embodied energies and abilities to sequester carbon. When understood at the scale of the city, switching to this mode of construction can inform our understanding of the environmental impact of large scale building within the realm of affordable housing.

Using the resources local to the Northeast combined with current issues arising from infestation by the Emerald Ash Borer one sees a massive stock of timber is available to construct solid timber buildings. The standing timber affected by the Emerald Ash Borer needs to be harvested, however the trees currently affected by it (ash and red maple) lack a meaningful market presence. Investment by manufacturers in creating products that use these wood products can be a large step towards greater acceptance for these wood products. The project views the impact of the Emerald Ash Borer as an opportunity to strengthen the surrounding region of the Northeast as an alternative to looking outside of the region for raw material resources.

Related Project:
The Plantation Games