Situated along Amsterdam’s Amstel River, the recently completed HAUT project by Team V stands out as one of the tallest hybrid structures in the world. The municipality of Amsterdam procured the building concept based on its architectural quality, as well as its environmental merits. This month, the project was shortlisted by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStrctE) for the 2023 Structural Awards.
Unlike timber and steel production, which are significant sources of carbon emissions, timber stores carbon and, when harvested through sustainable forestry practices, can be considered a low-carbon renewable building material. Alongside the utilization of timber in the project, HAUT features other sustainable measures such as solar panels on the roof and façade, ground source cooling, sensor-controlled technical spaces to provide low-temperature floor heating, charging points for shared electric cars, and a rooftop garden that includes nesting boxes for birds and bats, as well as rainwater storage provisions.
With no standard building regulations for high-rise timber construction in the Netherlands, the design team invested considerable time and energy in reviewing and developing the project’s technical and safety aspects. The load-bearing structure of the tower is made from cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels manufactured offsite. The walls and floor are constructed in timber, with the foundations, basement, and core constructed in concrete due to the building’s location and exposure to water and rain.
In addition to its sustainability credentials, timber also allows for high levels of customization. CLT panels can be easily adapted during prefabrication, offering, in this case, first buyer options in the size and layout of their apartment, the number of floors, and the location of double-height spaces, galleries, and balconies.
Unlike most timber buildings, only the inner walls of HAUT are load-bearing, which frees the façade up for a spectacular floor-to-ceiling glazing. Working alongside this, an irregular pattern of balconies and pronounced double-height spaces along the Amstel River result in a visually compelling architecture.
