Milwaukee, world capital of wooden skyscrapers?

Vancouver-based Michael Green Architects recently unveiled plans for a new housing development in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, including a massive timber skyscraper that would, when completed, be the tallest in the world. Located next to the Marcus Center — a mid-century Brutalist structure designed by Harry Weese — the architecture includes a mixed-use programme with offices, shops, hotels, housing and public plazas.

Current drawings of the project show a 55-storey tower made mainly of timber elements, thus surpassing the 86.6 metre Ascent tower by Korb + Associates Architects, also in Milwaukee and considered the world's tallest wooden skyscraper.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson

The tower will have a wide form with sloping roofs, which in the views appear covered in greenery. The development plan also includes several other mid-rise structures with similar material palettes and shapes. The renderings show structures with rounded edges and shops along the street, arranged under podiums of buildings decorated with hanging vegetation.

The city has already proposed an exclusive negotiation right of one year with possible extensions, subject to approval by the city council. This period will allow the development team to secure funding and finalise project plans, ensuring continued progression towards project realisation.

“I have not been shy about my goal of growing our city’s population,” said Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson. “This project will help us do that, literally aiming to set local and global records, but more importantly to add density and activity to an underutilised city-controlled lot in downtown Milwaukee. It also represents a forward-looking Milwaukee that is open to outside investment and ideas”.

Opening image: Michael Green Architecture,  Marcus Performing Arts Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Courtesy Michael Green Architecture