ASTM floor noise standard raises another wood structure red flag

A new standard from ASTM International Committee E33 on Building and Environmental Acoustics establishes an evaluation metric for low-frequency impact noise, especially the thudding from footfalls typical in multi-level buildings constructed of materials other than cast-in-place or precast concrete.

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CSHub at MIT develops hazard mitigation metric

CSHub at MIT develops hazard mitigation metric

The Concrete Sustainability Hub at Massachusetts Institute of Technology has developed Break Even Mitigation Percent (BEMP), a new tool to estimate the cost of weather hazards on a building. In a new research brief, “A break-even hazard mitigation metric,” CSHub staff finds that a $10 million non-engineered wood building is expected to face more than half a million dollars in hazard related damages over 50 years, while a $10 million engineered concrete building is expected to face only $165,000 over the same period.

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35-story wood building concept frames urban competition proposal

Sources: CP staff; Michael Green Architecture, Vancouver, B.C.

In an announcement lacking detail on structural member dimensions, integrity, combustibility characteristics, sourcing, and code feasibility, an architect and developer team has proposed a project harboring what would be the world’s tallest wood-framed building. The 35-story structure is envisioned as the centerpiece of Baobab, to be reviewed with other project concepts in the Réinventer Paris competition.

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