Architects often rely on three primary materials for office buildings: steel, glass, and reinforced concrete.
A new tower in Newark, New Jersey will defy that standard. It will instead be made of wood.
Designed by Michael Green Architecture, the 500,000-square-foot structure will be the largest wooden tower in the United States. (Though, this type of building has only recently become more popular among American architects and developers.) It will also serve as the centerpiece for Riverfront Square, a huge mixed-use development that will replace the Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium as well as the old Lincoln Motel.
Here's what the new tower will look like:
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The building will ascend in three separate step-like sections, rising from six to eight and then 11 stories tall.
New York City-based developer Lotus Equity Group is developing it.
It will anchor Riverfront Square, a 4.8 million-square-foot development that will include retail, outdoor public space, a hotel, office space, parking, and up to 2,000 residential units.
Riverfront Square will be built on the site of the closed Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium, whichsold for $23 million in 2016, according to NJ.com.
The tower will have a concrete foundation, but its walls, floors, columns, and exterior panels will be made of mass timber.
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