Chicago is falling behind smaller cities like Milwaukee in switching out steel and concrete buildings for timber. That is according to Edward Keegan, a content creator for Think Wood, who in the Chicago Tribune writes that at a time when the largest city in the Midwest does not have a timber building under construction, so-called secondary cities are now leading the charge to build plyscrapers.
“Our neighbour to the north has become a hotbed for the development of timber towers — tall buildings that use relatively new mass timber technologies that can replace the steel and concrete traditionally used to support such structures,” Keegan writes. “Since 2022, Milwaukee has been home to the tallest timber tower in the world — the 25-story Ascent MKE at 284 feet in height. That’s no Sears Tower, but when you consider that most wood-framed buildings are one to four stories tall, it’s quite an achievement.”
Pointing to Neutral’s The Edison – a 31-story skyscraper designed by Chicago-based Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, Keegan said the design is a conventional rectangular apartment block with a large grid pattern inscribed across each of its facades: “Setbacks between the parking at its base and the rest of the tower will reveal building amenities as well as the structure’s typical wood decking. It’s simple, straightforward and elegant in a way that we expect in Chicago,” he said. “For all the stunning achievements that Chicago architects and engineers have accomplished over the last century and a half, there’s still a deeply conservative streak that runs through the city’s building culture.”
“Fire, through several key historical events, is at fault. The Great Chicago Fire (1871), the Iroquois Theatre fire (1903), and the conflagration that levelled the original McCormick Place (1967) have all had an impact on Chicago and the world’s approach to fire prevention and management. So, perhaps it’s not surprising that we now lag many places in the development of new construction with mass timber.”
Last year, Michael Green, the architect behind the 50-story timber tower (also developed by Neutral), said Milwaukee city officials are completely “on board” with the sustainable-centric design – before adding that smaller cities, like Milwaukee, have a unique opportunity to create sustainable models for larger urban centres to follow – with larger cities, like Chicago, less willing to experiment with materials: “It is ambitious projects like this that show how smaller cities are now poised to surpass the once-dominant capitals that shaped our skylines a century ago. Milwaukee’s progressive leaders are embracing a future-oriented vision, encouraging development and innovation. Secondary cities across America are proving what’s possible. It’s time we all listened.”
Green has long argued for timber as part of a suite of bio-based construction materials. In 2023, Wood Central reported that “no building will be truly sustainable until the industry moves away from the three big carbon generators—concrete, steel, and masonry. In the design-build world, the term ‘sustainable’ has become almost mythical as architects and builders search for construction techniques that ease the burden on the environment.”
