About the author ⁄ Benton Johnson, P.E., S.E.

Benton Johnson is a Director of Structural Engineering for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago. (benton.johnson@som.com)

An Example of Sustainability Using Timber

The Iconic and Symbolic County Office Building

Decarbonization must rapidly advance to avert further changes to our environment. As a signatory of SE 2050, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) has committed to bringing meaningful carbon reductions to a wide spectrum of buildings. The use of mass timber in many buildings can be cost-effective when combined with the building’s architectural design and programmatic needs. The added benefits of carbon sequestration, reduced finishes, and biophilic aesthetics were all developed for the new County Office Building 3 (COB3) for the County of San Mateo in Northern California.

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May, 2023 By Mark Sarkisian, P.E., S.E., NAE, LEED, Eric Long, P.E., S.E., LEED® AP, M. ASCE, Benton Johnson, P.E., S.E., Peter Lee, P.E., S.E., David Shook, P.E. and Alex Zha In Articles, Feature

100 Mount Street

The latest addition to North Sydney’s growing business district is 100 Mount Street. The design of the building by SOM and Architectus takes advantage of panoramic views of Sydney Harbour with an integrated approach to architecture and structural engineering. Tenant views are maximized with an offset core and 20-foot column-free cantilevered zones along the North and South face of the building. The offset core is balanced by an innovative composite mega-bracing system which also creates the architectural identity of the project. The building’s state-of-the-art structure was engineered by SOM and Enstruct, the engineer of record. Refer to Figure 1 for typical floor plans.

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Jun, 2021 By Benton Johnson, P.E., S.E. In Feature Comments 0

Timber Tower Research Project

The Timber Tower Research Project by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, LLP (SOM) was publically released in June of 2013, and is available for download at SOM’s website. The goal of the research project was to develop a structural system for tall buildings that uses mass timber as the main structural material and minimizes the embodied carbon footprint of the building. …

Mar, 2014 By Benton Johnson, P.E., S.E., David Horos, P.E., S.E., LEED® AP and William F. Baker, P.E., S.E., F. ASCE, FIStructE In Articles, Structural Sustainability Comments 0

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