Last week the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the winners of its U.S. Tall Wood Building competition, hosted in conjunction with the Softwood Lumber Board and the Binational Softwood Lumber Council. Launched last October, the contest sought to bring attention to new technologies that permit environmentally-friendly wood structures to be built taller and stronger. The winners were each awarded $1.5 million to develop their projects.

475 West 18th

Designed by AD Innovator SHoP Architects, 475 West 18th Street is a proposed ten-story residential tower in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. Working with environmental consultancy Atelier Ten, the team seeks to obtain LEED Platinum certification for the project, which will be built from locally sourced timber. “By choosing to develop a timber building, we hope to pave the way for a new method of urban construction that is ecologically conscious and supportive of rural economies,” said Erica Spiritos of Spiritos Properties, one of the project’s developers, in a statement.

Framework

Framework, a 12-story mixed-use building in Portland, Oregon, designed by Lever Architecture, will offer retail, office, residential, and community spaces. Slated for completion by 2017, the wood tower will be one of the first to rise in the U.S. As the structure is located in an earthquake-prone region, it will feature an engineered wood core and lateral system to boost its seismic integrity. “The relationship of our cities to our rural communities, what we call ‘forest to frame,’ is strengthened by Framework,” said Anyeley Hallova of development company project^ in a statement. “On a national scale this project will be catalytic, leading to more tall wood buildings, driving more wood products and wood product innovation, and boosting rural economic development.”

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