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Governor’s Chair Seminar Series: Benton Johnson, “Rethinking Embodied Energy”
January 21, 2015 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
“Urban Mass Timber: Rethinking Embodied Energy”
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Reception at 6:00, presentation 6:30-7:30
UT Fab Lab, 525 N. Gay Street, Knoxville
Benton Johnson, PE SE
Associate, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
Current projections suggest today’s population living in urban areas will double by the year 2050. This concentration of people will have substantial impacts on existing infrastructure and create enormous demand for new mid and high-rise buildings. These new buildings must be constructed in sustainable ways which limit additional carbon emissions. Wood has been shown to be the most sustainable structural material and can help achieve the low carbon targets of the future. Recent developments in mass-timber technology such as cross laminated timber have overcome traditional strength and fire limitations of wooden structures, allowing wood to play a role in mid and high-rise structures. Structural engineer Benton Johnson will give an overview of mass-timber technology and how it was utilized for the prototypical system proposed by SOM in the Timber Tower Research Project.
As a project engineer for SOM, Mr. Johnson has worked on several large scale projects around the world as well as innovative research projects. Mr. Johnson joined SOM in 2007 after completing his M.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota. Since joining SOM he has worked on projects such as the Al Hamra Tower in Kuwait, Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati. Mr. Johnson’s work at SOM has also included competition and research work aimed at advancing building technology. This work has included the 600 meter tall+ Wuhan Greenland and Fluidic Tower competitions as well as the recently completed Timber Tower Research Project.
