This week, Canadian materials design firm DIALOG announced that it is formally pursuing global patents for its sustainable timber material, called the Hybrid Timber Floor System (HTFS), in what could be a major market leap for the use of lower-carbon-emitting timber in super-tall buildings, reducing the negative environmental impact of construction in densely populated urban areas.
DIALOG–which earlier this year received Fast Company Magazine’s World Changing Ideas Award–has filed for patent protection in Canada, the United States, the European Union, Australia and China.
The Hybrid Timber Floor System (HTFS) combines cross-laminated timber panels with steel, and concrete to build high rise towers with a significantly reduced carbon footprint. When incorporated with other smart building technologies, such as photovoltaic panels, algae bioreactors, or other renewable energy solutions, towers as tall as 105-stories could achieve carbon neutrality.
“Floor plates typically comprise approximately 70 percent of building material utilized in high-rise towers,” DIALOG Founding Partner Craig Applegath, AIA, said. “By focusing our talents and resources on creating more innovative floor plate solutions like this one, we believe that we can make a major dent in the environmental footprint of the built environment in the not-so-distant future.”
With post-tensioned steel cables encased in concrete bands and embedded into Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) panels, DIALOG’s HTFS will allow for a 40-foot (or 12-meter) column-free span, where standard CLT design systems currently span just three-quarters of that distance. With the novel combination of these materials and its unique features, DIALOG says the HTFS could be deployed in dramatically tall buildings around the world.
“This HTFS will maximize the use of sustainably harvested wood in high-rise construction in the most cost efficient, energy efficient, and elegant manner. In doing so, the design will also give occupants access to sustainable, beautiful, exposed natural wood in their spaces,” said DIALOG Partner and structural engineer Thomas Wu.
Once the patents are approved, the structural system will then require localized approvals to coincide with area code requirements around fire, health, and life safety. While awaiting patent approval, DIALOG is working in partnership with global construction firm EllisDon to develop scaled panels for thorough structural testing.
“The hybrid panel presents a unique value proposition allowing for carbon sustainability, the ability for offsite prefabrication, and long-span exposed ceilings desired by many commercial tenants,” said Mark Gaglione, P.E., EllisDon’s Director of Building and Material Sciences. “We are excited to be working with DIALOG to help make this concept idea a reality as soon as possible.”
Late last month, DIALOG announced a merger with NXL Architects, a deal that dramatically expands DIALOG’s science and technology practice to include the National Institute for Nanotechnology at the University of Alberta, research laboratories at the Calgary Cancer Centre, and a nationwide renewal of Laboratories Canada facilities.
