Contemporary tall residential timber buildings: What are the main architectural and structural design considerations?

Purpose: This study examined data from 13 international tall residential timber building case studies to increase our understanding of the emerging global trends. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through literature surveys and case studies to examine the architectural, structural and constructional points of view to contribute to knowledge about the increasing high-rise timber constructions globally. Findings: The main findings of this study indicated that: (1) central cores were the most preferred type 10 of core arrangements; (2) frequent use of prismatic forms with rectilinear plans and regular extrusions were identified; (3) the floor-to-floor heights range between 2.81 and 3.30 m with an average of 3 m; (4) the dominance of massive timber use over hybrid construction was observed; (5) the most used structural system was the shear wall system; (6) generally, fire resistance in primary and secondary structural elements exceeded the minimum values specified in the building codes; (7) the reference sound insulation values used for airborne and impact sounds had an average of 50 and 56 dB, respectively. Originality/value: There is no study in the literature that comprehensively examines the main architectural and structural design considerations of contemporary tall residential timber buildings.