First-ever two-hour fire testing on a mass-timber exposed structure shows that engineered wood can meet stringent U.S. fire codes for tall buildings. The test results, announced recently, move the 12-story Framework Tower, sited in quake-prone Portland, Ore., a step closer to construction. The 140-ft-tall high-rise is on course to be the tallest mass-timber building in the U.S.
“Until this test, no one had shown that the beam-to-column connection can meet the two-hour fire rating” for high-rises, says Thomas Robinson, founding principal of LEVER Architecture, which is designing Framework with structural consultant KPFF Consulting Engineers. “The tests are a confirmation of what we already modeled and designed,” he adds.