The Benefits and Engineering Challenges of Podium Design

Worldwide, there is a trend toward the construction of taller wood buildings. When this case study was published, the high end of the scale included the UK’s Stadthaus building, which includes eight stories of cross-laminated timber (CLT) over one story of concrete. While CLT was not yet widely used in North America, four-to-six-level wood buildings were becoming increasingly popular and the evolution upward seemed inevitable.

This case study can be used as a stand-alone piece or companion to the WoodWorks design example, Five-story Wood-frame Structure over Podium Slab.