As urban densification occurs in U.S. regions of high seismicity, there is a natural demand for seismically resilient tall buildings that are reliable, economically viable, and can be rapidly constructed. In urban regions on the west coast of the U.S., specifically the Pacific Northwest, there is significant interest in utilizing CLT in 8-20 story residential and commercial buildings due to its appeal as a potential locally sourced, sustainable and economically competitive building material. In this study, results from a multi-disciplinary discussion on the feasibility and challenges in enabling tall CLT building for the U.S. market were summarized. A three-tiered seismic performance expectations that can be implemented for tall CLT buildings was proposed to encourage the adoption of the system at a practical level. A road map for building tall CLT building in the U.S. was developed, together with three innovative conceptual CLT systems that can help reaching resiliency goals. This study is part of an on-going multi-institution research project funded by National Science Foundation.
