Google is leaning on mass timber to achieve net zero by 2030, with its latest campus building, 1265 Borregas, Sunnydale, California, becoming the first (but certainly not the last) Google-owned asset to be built from cross-laminated timber.
Designed by Michael Green Architects, the architect behind plans to build North America’s latest timber skyscraper in Milwaukee, the LEED platinum building, constructed in 2022, achieved a 96% decrease in global warming potential (GWP) compared to traditional steel.
“Research suggests people can focus and do their best work when surrounded by nature, and a building like this achieves this by keeping the timber exposed inside and outside of the space,” Google said in a statement yesterday. “Automatic wooden blinds adjust to the sun’s position and minimise glare, and an underfloor air system provides optimal comfort.”
“Mass timber’s regenerative qualities and ability to absorb and store carbon over time — a process called sequestration — makes it a sustainable and environmentally friendly choice for building,” according to Google. “It also helps decrease carbon emissions from the extraction, production and transportation of traditional building materials.”
For Google, one of the most important advantages of timber-based construction was that the pre-fit building parts accelerate structural assembly, leading to less construction traffic, on-site construction noise (like jackhammering), and decreased construction waste.
“Our new building shows what’s possible when you combine sustainability and construction efficiency into an office building while prioritising employee wellbeing. We hope that others will join us in this approach to support a more sustainable future,” Google said.
YouTube’s Timber Buildings Click into Place!
In September, Wood Central revealed that construction had topped out for the first stage of YouTube’s five-staged masterplan, with crews finishing work on two three-storey steel-and-timber-framed buildings in the heart of the Google-owned Silicon Valley campus.
Designed by New York-based SHoP Architects—who are also behind the Atlassian building in Sydney—and with San Francisco-based Ellis Partners acting as development manager, the new 6.7-acre expansion (which includes 440,000 square feet of open workspace) has been dubbed: “The ultimate “anti-icon: a building that puts people first.”
Featuring a steel frame with cross-laminated timber inserts, the choice to use locally sourced mass timber (rather than conventional steel and concrete) “is estimated to have reduced carbon emissions by nearly 22,000 metric tons,” with the project “also introducing 475 native trees to the landscape.”
- To find out why tech companies are embracing flexible, lightweight and low-carbon construction materials, like mass timber, in future construction, click here for Wood Central’s feature on the next-generation data centres, which use timber as strong as steel.
