Beyond taking less energy to produce, wood buildings store carbon that otherwise would have returned to the atmosphere as those trees died and began to decay. The wooden structure of the new 18-story Brock Commons dormitory at the University of British Columbia, for example, stores 1,753 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Transportation hubs in the inner suburbs of cities in the United States are often surrounded by multifamily housing of only five or six stories . With CLT, those buildings could be taller, creating more housing close to trains, subways and buses, and a more compact urban development pattern. Taller mid-rise wood buildings would also help lower the cost of housing by increasing supply.

Source: New York Times October 03, 2019 18:56 UTC