6-Storey CLT building in Parma

A new multi-storey timber residential building!

This building is located in the central area of ​​Parma and it consists of six residential floors completely made of timber.

The floors, walls, and even stairs are made using Xlam cross-layered panels. Staircases made of timber are extremely fascinating since they can adapt to almost any style and design, indeed, for this first mass timber building in this iconic Italian city, they fit perfectly and look outstanding.

Another significant advantage of making timber staircases is that they can be pre-assembled off-site and then assembled without temporary scaffolding once on the construction site.

A distinguishing characteristic of this particular structure is that, differently from other timber buildings, the stair shaft is entirely made of timber and not reinforced concrete. This means that, besides the indispensable steel connections, timber is the only main building material from the ground level.

When dealing with timber structures, especially structures of this size and complexity, the study of the details assumes a determining role since they ensure the correct outcome of the building process and, finally, the whole structure.

Our scope of work included:

• Value engineering. To value engineer this 6-storey CLT building meant studying and analyzing for solutions with the best cost, benefit an buildability ratio.
• Production drawings. Making production drawings is a determining part of our DfMA approach which is a complete change to the traditional sequence of the design.
• A complete structural FEM Analysis. The FEM analysis allowed us to deliver on all the critical design parameters such as earthquake, wind and fire.

Furthermore, for this large-scale project, we experienced a fascinating and futuristic augmented reality system to test the assembly plans. Augmented Reality has always been one step above other rivals, here, for instance, is how we used it to immerse ourselves in the final result.

It’s incredible how, with this revolutionary technology, you can see through the elements in scale 1:1 to avoid clashes and penetrations as you were using X-Ray.

This technology undoubtedly requires knowledge and the right tools but the benefits offered by augmented reality throughout the whole project life cycle are concrete and, as you can see in the video, super functional.

This project is nearing completion and will see its end by summer 2023.