Cross-laminated timber (CLT)
Madera contralaminada (CLT)
- Date
- c. 1993 · confidence low
- Place
- Graz, Styria, Austria
- Credited to
- Graz University of Technology and the Austrian timber industry
- Field
- Matter & energy
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Panels of timber boards glued in crossed layers that resist in both directions and are made with industrial precision. They allow timber buildings of dozens of storeys with fast assembly and a smaller carbon footprint than concrete.
Its origin is placed in 1990s Austria and Germany, with research at Graz and firms such as KLH; there is no single date or inventor. Its use in tall buildings became widespread from 2008.
What it led to
- timber buildings up to 18-25 storeys
- prefabricated timber modular construction
- timber codes for tall buildings