Will mass timber building 'topple' current world tallest?

A 32-story, mass timber hi-rise in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is scheduled to break ground in the second quarter of 2024 and, when, or if, completed, the Edison is “on track to become the tallest mass timber building in the world.”

If completed, the building would dislodge the Ascent, also in Milwaukee, that in July 2022 was crowned by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat as being the tallest mass-timber building in the world.

The mixed-use tower, a hybrid timber and concrete structure, being developed by The Neutral Project, a real estate building firm focusing on sustainable building, measures 493,000-square-feet, and rises 25 stories. The structure will have post-tensioned concrete on levels one through eight; levels eight through 32 will feature mass-timber hybrid construction, according to Finance and Commerce magazine.

The Edison, which caters to the high-end luxury housing market in Milwaukee, leverages Mass Timber technology and is targeting Passive House (Phius) certification. Phius is a non-profit organization committed to decarbonizing the built environment by making high-performance passive building the mainstream market standard.

The Edison apartment structure was initially planned as a 15-story building with around 200 units overlooking the Milwaukee River, but revised plans doubled the size of the building. A completion date has been reported to be either 2025 or 2027.