Concrete apartment tower in Los Angeles reimagined in mass timber

Abstract

This study explores the seismic performance advantages and disadvantages of mass timber construction over reinforced concrete construction for high-rise buildings in high seismic regions. In a side-by-side comparison of a 20-story reinforced concrete tower and a corresponding mass timber tower, the timber tower is demonstrated to have roughly half the mass and twice the flexibility of the reinforced concrete tower. Building code minimum for acceleration and maximum for drift govern the lateral design of the theoretical mass timber tower, whereas code minimum acceleration and strength govern the reinforced concrete tower. The study demonstrates that mass timber provides a viable alternative to reinforced concrete construction in high seismic regions.