Brazil has a new mass-timber building, a mass timber building brazil project that its builder calls the tallest of its kind in the country. Crosslam, an engineering firm, designed and built Aurora 275, a hybrid structure that stands 22 metres tall.
Aurora 275 uses a reinforced concrete core. Around that core, the builders added metal and mass-timber elements.
Bamboo is another natural material pushed into new structural territory, as seen in Studio Saar’s bamboo pavilion and its colonial legacy, which shows how a single material can carry a building’s meaning as well as its load.
The building sits in Suzano, in the São Paulo area. Crosslam says it is the tallest building of its type in Brazil, making it a notable project. The firm usually works as an engineer for other companies. With this project, it designed a building itself to show what the material can do locally.
“We believed that, to sell the first timber building, we first had to build our own,” said Crosslam founder José Alberto Corrêa. “Otherwise, the Brazilian market wouldn’t trust that it was possible.”
Proof of concept: a timber tower in Brazil
According to Crosslam, a five-person team built the structure in four weeks. The timber was produced at the company’s factory from wood sourced in Brazil.
The tower stands beside smaller residential buildings. Its metal-clad facade has yellow detailing that runs up its face. The building extends in two directions from the concrete core. Each of its 10 apartments has a balcony.
From the outside, the timber is visible only on the undersides of the balconies. Inside, the timber takes a more prominent role. Cross-laminated timber floor plates and glulam beams are left exposed. Glued-laminated timber, or glulam, is made by bonding parallel layers of wood into beams and columns. The exposed wood gives the interiors a warm feel.
Why the builders chose timber
Crosslam says the project shows that timber can support industrial-style housing production in Brazil. The project team lists the advantages of engineered timber in a statement.
“Using engineered timber offers benefits related to the industrialisation of construction, the efficiency of the assembly process, and building performance,” the project team said. “The main advantages include: faster assembly, dimensional precision, reduced waste on the construction site, a lighter structure, and lower carbon emissions.”
Crosslam says this building is carbon neutral. The company’s website lists past work that includes the Henkel Innovation Center and VLT Salvador, alongside hybrid and glulam structures for other clients.
For a closer look at timber used as a primary building material in a rural setting, see Quebec’s Chalet Moraine, a timber and stone retreat, which shows how wood can read as warm and natural in a finished interior.
Tall mass timber buildings are gaining ground in North America and Europe. The current tallest timber structure in the world recently topped out in Australia. Aurora 275 is a much smaller building. Its value for Crosslam is as a working example for clients who still doubt that the method can scale in Brazil.
Via dezeen.com
Frequently asked questions
How tall is Aurora 275, Crosslam’s mass-timber building?
Aurora 275 stands 22 metres tall. Crosslam calls it the tallest building of its type in Brazil.
Where is the Aurora 275 mass-timber building located?
Aurora 275 is located in Suzano, in the São Paulo area of Brazil. The firm designed and built it.
What materials make up the Aurora 275 building’s structure?
Aurora 275 uses a reinforced concrete core, with metal and mass-timber elements added around it. Inside, cross-laminated timber floor plates and glulam beams are left exposed.
Why did Crosslam build Aurora 275 itself?
Crosslam usually works as an engineer for other companies, but it built Aurora 275 to show what timber can do in Brazil. Founder José Alberto Corrêa said the company believed it had to build its own timber building first, because otherwise the Brazilian market would not trust that it was possible.
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