After water, the second most used substance on earth is concrete. This is real. Concrete is the backbone of international infrastructure-buildings, highways, sidewalks, bridges, dams, stadiums, they are all made of concrete.

Broadly speaking, this will not change anytime soon. By 2050, the output of cement, the main component of concrete, is expected to increase by 2 billion tons per year. This is...unfortunate. Although cement is cheap, available everywhere and very strong, it also puts tremendous pressure on the environment. Cement accounts for 5% of carbon emissions; heating one ton of cement in a kiln will release exactly one ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. As a chart in the Guardian two years ago pointed out, if concrete is a country, it will become the third largest carbon emitter in the world.

This is why some towns are increasingly looking to get rid of materials and return to most of the communities left over from the 19th century: wood. More and more "plyscrapers", or multi-storey buildings constructed from cross-laminated timber. Take a look at the list of the world’s tallest wooden buildings-most of them were built in the past ten years, and in the next 15 years, there are dozens more (in Tokyo, Portland, Helsinki, etc.) proposals , Some of them boast 70 or more floors.

A post shared by Sara kulturhus (@sarakulturhus)

According to The Guardian, Skellefteå, a city of about 75,000 people in northeastern Sweden, is a pioneer in this trend. The city recently opened Sara Kulturhus, a cultural center with theaters, museums, art galleries, public libraries, and hotels. center. The 20-story building is mainly made of treated wood (a combination of glue-laminated wood and cross-laminated wood), "light weight, but as strong as concrete and steel."

The wood comes from local forests — developers make sure to plant additional trees for every tree they cut down — and it’s not just about saving the environment from any carbon that may be emitted by concrete projects. The building can actually store 9,000 tons of carbon. Not to mention, building with wood is a faster and easier process. It is estimated that the number of trucks delivered to the site has been reduced by 90% and a year’s labor has been saved because workers can assemble ready-to-assemble panels at a rate of one story every two days.

For a long time, we have always believed that construction sites are noisy, dusty, heavily polluted, and poor quality of life. But when you build with wood, this is not necessarily the case. As one contractor told The Guardian, “The people who built it will never go back to steel and concrete.” For those who are concerned about the reaction of wood to fire or moisture, don’t worry. Today's cross-laminated timber is ready to resist wood's old rivals.

To be fair, the complex is not only made of wood. There is a huge load-bearing steel truss, and the top two floors include some concrete to support the building against the sub-arctic wind in the area. This is the general reality of plyscraper: unless future construction advances, there is a built-in height limit.

But maybe this is a good thing. As cities begin to reconsider open space and sprawl, it may be time to replace those unimaginative 40-story office park floors with gathering places of truly enriching environments—a place where the community will be attracted and proud. Click here to view Sara Kulturhus' photos. Not only does wood have a positive impact on the earth, it is also soft and gentle on the eyes.

Like the victory in Scandinavia, you may roll your eyes naturally. Such as: Yes, beautiful, but it will never happen here. After all, Skelleftea is also a 100% renewable energy city, relying on hydropower and wind power. But these are achievable goals that the United States can (and needs) start to promote. When the beautiful wooden wonderland is waiting on the other side, it may be easier for everyone to join.

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