Panels & Furniture Asia July/August 2022

STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
Location:
Tokyo, Japan
Floor area:
1494m 2
NLT/Steel hybrid
portion area:
346m 2
Developer:
Tokyo University of the Arts
Architects:
Maeda Construction
Efforts are spearheaded by Canada
Wood Japan to integrate naillaminated
timber (NLT) technology
into the International Exchange
Centre building at the Tokyo
University of the Arts, in an NLT
demonstration project in Japan
where timber panels are utilised on
the third, fourth and fifth levels.
2
Located in the heart of the Ueno
Campus of Tokyo University of the
Arts, the project is made possible
with the joint effort by the Council
of Forestry Industries, Japan
2×4 Home Builders Association
in obtaining Japan’s Ministry of
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and
Tourism (MLIT) quasi-fireproof NLT
floor assembly approvals in 2020.
Supported by funding from the
Alberta government, the project is
meant to showcase the potential
of NLT use in improving building
sustainability, cost-effectiveness
and overall design compatibility
in hybrid steel and wood frame
structures.
3
Legend
1 The in-progress International Exchange
Centre building at the Tokyo University of
the Arts
2 NLT panels were prefabricated in a nearby
factory and flat-packed to the construction
site
3 An NLT panel manufactured from planks of
dimensional SPF lumber
4 Planks are placed on their sides and nailed
to each other to form NLT panels
4
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