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The Future of Cities in Wood

Skyscraper Museum Showcases New Construction Techniques that Reduce Environmental Impact


In the 1880s, New York had hit a brick wall, literally and figuratively. The problem was that buildings had gone about as high as they could go, based on the centuries-old technology of piling bricks on top of each other so that the structure was supported only by its exterior walls. New York’s tallest surviving example of this approach is a matter of some dispute, but a credible candidate is Lower Manhattan’s Corbin Building (right), at Broadway and John Street, which is eight stories (135 feet) tall.


The dilemma that limited the height of the Corbin Buildings was solved by the development of reinforced concrete: steel bars encased within a slurry of cement, water, sand, and rock, which hardens into stone and forms a building’s “skeleton,” allowing office and apartment towers to soar many dozens of stories (and hundreds of feet) skyward. This innovation—borne of the marriage of two strengths: steel is strong when you pull on it, while concrete is mighty when pushed down upon—made possible the skylines that define our urban world.

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“Tall Timber: The Future of Cities in Wood,” a new exhibit at the Skyscraper Museum, highlights the ways in which engineered wood may replace steel in future skyscrapers.

But what if a new material could replace structural steel, making skyscrapers lighter, cheaper, faster to build, and more eco-friendly? And what if that new material were actually much older than steel? This is the subject of a new exhibit at the Skyscraper Museum, “Tall Timber: The Future of Cities in Wood,” which spotlights the latest wave of reinvention among architects and engineers, focused on “mass timber.” Also known as cross-laminated timber (CLT), this is essentially plywood in which each layer (or “ply”) is solid hardwood an inch or more thick, rather than the cardboard width of the strata in ordinary plywood. The result is a building material that compares favorably to steel-reinforced concrete when strength is measured against weight, can often be less expensive, and has a much lower carbon footprint than the production of either steel or concrete.


An instinctive concern about fire has led regulators to be cautious about authorizing its adoption, but the counter-intuitive truth is that mass timber can potentially be safer in a fire than steel. Although the metal doesn’t burn, it loses its capacity to hold up the building’s load after just 15 minutes of direct exposure to flame. (This was the primary cause of the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001.) But although wood can be made to catch fire, it also retains its structural muscle for up to 90 minutes during a fire, giving emergency responders much more time to evacuate a building and then save it.

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The Skyscraper Museum’s show highlights new structural systems of engineered wood that act as columns, walls, and floor slabs, used thus far mostly in buildings that can be considered prototypes. At left, the Atlassian tower to rise in Sydney, Australia, planned by Lower Manhattan design firm SHoP Architects, will be the tallest commercial hybrid timber tower in the world.


The Skyscraper Museum exhibition also features designs for mixed-use office buildings, social housing, and apartments, as well as theoretical plans for timber towers of 30 to 80 stories, often dubbed “plyscrapers.” Another section focuses on the eco-upside: “As the only major building material that grows back,” the Skyscraper Museum notes, “wood sequesters carbon dioxide and thereby helps curtail harmful greenhouse gas emissions.”


The exhibit, “Tall Timber: The Future of Cities in Wood,” will be on view at the Skyscraper Museum (39 Battery Place) through August, open each Wednesday through Saturday, from noon through 6pm. Admission is free, but complimentary timed tickets are recommended. To reserve, or for more information, please call 212-945-6324 or go to skyscraper.org


Matthew Fenton

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Can We Get a Little Help Here?

City Hall Targets Lower Manhattan for Affordable Housing Intervention


The administration of Mayor Eric Adams has designated Lower Manhattan as one of 12 communities across the five boroughs where affordable housing is sufficiently scarce to qualify for a new program designed to jumpstart the creation of moderately priced homes. Read more...

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Letters


To the editor,


I have contacted Chris Marte, Grace Lee, and Deborah Glick asking them to truly represent our Downtown community and create a discount, if not pass, on the congestion pricing fees for residents in our community. We live here, we pay taxes and support services. Charging us for choosing to live here is outrageous! This pertains not only to owning a car as a resident but to all the additional costs of deliveries, service providers, supplies for our hospital, etc. So far none of the above electeds have responded. This is an election year. They should understand that we, residents/voters, are watching to see who is going to represent us.


Paul Hovitz, retired Vice Chair of Community Board One

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Swimming in Red Ink

Mother Ship of Ferry Operator Nearly Ceased Operations in November


Hornblower, the company that operates the popular but heavily subsidized NYC Ferry franchise, declared bankruptcy last Wednesday. The company lost more than a quarter of a billion dollars in 2020, and came within days of shutting down entirely last November, according to court documents. The firm is also more than billion dollars in debt, and spends in excess of $100 million per year in interest alone on these obligations according to the same source. Read more...

DOWNTOWN CALENDAR

Wednesday, February 28

11am

Virtual Walking Tour: Vienna’s Jewish Quarter Through Time

Livestreamed

Virtual tour of Vienna’s Jewish Quarter. $25.


1pm-3pm

Tour the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter John Patterson

Pier 17, South Street Seaport

Step onboard and meet the Coast Guard crew. Learn more about the patrol boat and its missions, including search and rescue and living marine resources enforcement. The USCGC John Patterson is named for a largely unheralded hero of both the Civil War and the U.S. Lifesaving Service. The ship is homeported in Boston. Free.


1pm

Adult Chorus

200 Rector Place

Learn contemporary and classic songs and perform at community events throughout the year. Free.


1pm

Bach at One: St. John Passion

St. Paul's Chapel

St. John Passion, BWV 245 Part 1. “O Mensch, bewein' dein' Sünde groß” from St. Matthew Passion, BWV 244. Free.


2pm-4pm

Figure Drawing

6 River Terrace

A model will strike poses; educators will offer constructive suggestions. Materials provided. Free.


4:30pm-5:30pm

Art On View Closing Reception

6 River Terrace

View art pieces created by participants at BPCA’s art programs. Free.


6pm

Dominican Republic Independence Day Celebration

City Hall Council Chambers

Performances, speakers, and more. Free.

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Thursday, February 29

2pm

Walking Book Club

New Amsterdam Library, 9 Murray Street

This month's selection: Bright Young Woman by Jessica Knoll. Free.


4pm-8pm

Brews at Brookfield Place

Winter Garden

Different local breweries featured each week, with all beer sales benefiting Brookfield Place charity partner, the GO Project.


6pm

A Conversation with Avril Haines and Jeh Johnson

9/11 Memorial & Museum

The national security challenges facing the United States continue to evolve and expand. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines talks with former U.S. Homeland Security Secretary and 9/11 Memorial and Museum trustee Jeh Johnson. Free.


7pm

Nazis in New York

Livestreamed

Film screening and presentation. On February 20, 1939, 20,000 pro-Nazi Americans attended a rally at Madison Square Garden. The Museum of Jewish Heritage will screen A Night at the Garden along with clips of Nazi Town, USA. Following the screening. director Marshall Curry will talk with Peter Yost, producer of Nazi Town, USA. $10 suggested donation.

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2015 photograph © Robert Simko

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