timber tower

The Timber Tower is a conceptual studio project exploring an office building constructed entirely from cross‑laminated timber (CLT). Recipient of the Innovation Award, selected by a Super Jury, the project was recognized for its tectonic ambition and its reimagining of the contemporary workplace through a structurally expressive lens.

At its core is the notion of the “penetrable shear wall.” Conventionally uninterrupted from ground to roof, the shear wall is reconceived here as a permeable armature: a field of circular oculi perforates the surface, enabling force to migrate both gravitationally and laterally while maintaining structural integrity. The result is a wall that is simultaneously diaphanous and load‑bearing.

The structural grid aligns with the maximum span of a CLT floor panel. Three shear walls run in each direction, their openings staggered in a non‑repeating tessellation that produces a tight structural cadence and a perception of uninterrupted space. Supported by this lattice of CLT shear walls rather than a conventional column‑and‑core system, the building frees vertical circulation and service cores from their typical structural obligations.

The oculi choreograph a fluid circulation network, offering expansiveness and calibrated privacy. Rather than a forest of columns, the structure itself becomes a spatial instrument , shaping movement, framing views, and generating zones of decompression and exchange.

A perforated timber veil extends this logic outward, acting as a brise‑soleil that modulates sunlight while preserving visual porosity. The building balances caprice with austere pragmatism, offering a fresh response to the architectural vernacular of Los Angeles’ Arts District. A double‑height ground floor and generous setback introduce civic generosity, forming a soft urban threshold for sociability and repose.

During the final review, the structural system became a point of spirited debate. Practicing structural engineers scrutinized the penetrable shear wall, ultimately reaching a rare consensus: the system not only could work, but did so with an elegance that challenged assumptions about CLT construction. Their approval affirmed the project’s tectonic plausibility and reinforced its conceptual ambition.