Multiple criteria assessment of high-rise timber buildings

Abstract

Although the majority of high-rise buildings are constructed from concrete and steel, there is a growing interest in the new generation of multi-storey timber buildings around the world and several ecologically sustainable structural systems have already been proposed. This research aims to review and compare the highest contemporary timber buildings in terms of economic and environmental efficiency. For this purpose, the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) method is used. Five high-rise timber buildings are assessed according to the developed system of economic and environmental criteria. According to the multiple criteria assessment results, Mjøsa Tower, currently the tallest timber building in the world, located in Brumunddal, Norway, is ranked in the first place. This study also reveals that high-rise timber buildings are environmental friendly and high economic efficiency can be achieved by using lightweight modern engineered timber products, moreover, prefabrication of elements reduces duration and cost of the project.