As studies proving the strength and fire-resistance of timber construction loosen building codes around the globe, a new class of towers emerges, each of them angling to set records for the world’s tallest wooden buildings. In fact, so many towering timber creations are planned, there’s no telling which ones will actually manage to score the title before another snatches the crown. Here are some of the contenders.

W350 Project: 1,148-Foot Timber Tower for Tokyo by Nikken Sekkei

Architects Nikken Sekkei and Japanese companity Sumitomo Forestry Co. announce their plans to rise triumphant over every other tall timber tower currently in development with ‘Project 350,’ the world’s first supertall wooden skyscraper. At 1,148 feet tall, it soars significantly over the pinnacles of all other timber tower proposals. The mixed-use development would call for more than 6.5 million cubic feet of wood and cost about $5.6 billion USD. It features a 9:1 ration of wood to steel to meet Tokyo’s stringent seismic requirements.

Tree Tower Toronto by Penda

Taking inspiration from Moshe Safdie’s iconic Habitat 67, also located in Toronto, ‘Tree Tower Toronto’ by architecture firm Penda and wood consultants from CLT-brand Tmber is an 18-story timber-frame skyscraper that will reach a height of about 203 feet. The majority of the tower will contain residential units, with the rest dedicated to public spaces.

“Our cities are an assembly of steel, concrete and glass,” says Chris Precht, partner at Penda. “If you walk through the city and suddenly see a tower made of wood and plants, it will create an interesting contrast. The warm, natural appearance of wood and the plants growing on its facade bring the building to life and that could be a model for environmental friendly developments and sustainable extensions of our urban landscape.”

Mjøstårnet in Norway by Moelvin Limtre

Due to be completed in March 2019, Mjøstårnet by Moelvin Limtre is an 18-story high rise planned for a small Norway town that will be made primarily of local spruce. Though other planned towers are undeniably much taller, it looks like this one will be among the highest real-world examples to emerge in the next couple years. It will include apartments, offices, common areas, a restaurant, a hotel and a swimming hall. The developers are giving it a wide base so its total height could be raised in the future.

Terrace House in Vancouver by Shigeru Ban Architects

Planned for Vancouver’s Coal Harbour neighborhood alongside the landmark Evergreen building by Arthur Erickson, ‘Terrace House’ by famed Japanese architect Shigeru Ban is set to be the world’s tallest hybrid timber building. The design for the 232-foot-tall luxury residence tower complements that of its neighbor, and will feature an outer frame of timber, a glass top and a concrete and steel core.

Brock Commons: The World’s Tallest Timber Structured Building, Vancouver

For all of these towering timber proposals, we rarely see any already completed. Brock Commons in Vancouver by Acton Ostry Architects Inc. gives us an idea of what these structures will look like. Created as a student residence building at the University of British Columbia, the 173-foot building is made primarily of wood but its interiors are lined with a drywall and concrete envelope to comply with current fire safety codes.

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Wood You Believe It 10 Ultra Tall Timber Towers Compete For World Records

Fit for the most discerning fans of modern architecture, these dollhouses and other miniature architectural creations feature tiny moving parts, high-end designer furniture, swimming pools, built-in lighting and other fun details, rendered in astonishing realism. You’ll almost wish you could shrink yourself small enough to tour their often-fantastical layouts, which range from the luxurious to the gritty.

Flipped Structures & Tiny Towers by Takahiro Iwasaki

Japanese artist Takahiro Iwasaki makes mirrored wood architectural models and tiny towers made of toothbrush bristles, both in ongoing series inspired by the structures commonly found in Japan. The artist says ‘Reflection Model’ is meant to show that everything can become vastly different depending on your perspective.

Urban Utility Buildings by EVOL

Grimy rectilinear urban objects become weathered, aging apartment buildings in the hands of street artist EVOL, who uses cardboard, stencils and spray paint to transform them into micro cities.

Architectural Furniture by Ted Lott

Wooden stools and chairs act as the structural basis for tiny timber-frame buildings by artist Ted Lott. Using found furniture and pine, the artist re-contextualizes stick frame construction, adapting it to the curves of the base object in works that are remarkably skeletal.

Hyperrealistic Architectural Models by Joshua Smith

Every last detail on Joshua Smith’s incredible architectural models looks aged, weathered and utterly realistic, from peeling paint and stained awnings to graffiti and posters wheat pasted onto the walls. The artist finds real-life urban buildings to use as a starting point and crafts everything from trash bags in a dumpster to Chinese takeout on tiny rooftop dining tables, from the restaurant on the bottom floor.

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Architecture In Miniature 13 Modern Dollhouse Other Tiny Buildings

Wood may be most closely associated with cabins, stick-frame housing and other conventional forms of architecture, but a new wave of architects is adapting its usage for this century and beyond, using it as a primary material for large commercial structures, pavilions, energy-saving facades and even skyscrapers. Lightweight, flexible and renewable, wood is having a moment in modern architecture, transcending its rustic origins as one of the world’s most ancient building materials.

Curving Timber Shell for Swatch Headquarters by Shigeru Ban

A sinuous timber shell structure stretches between buildings owned by sister companies under the Swiss watch giant Swatch umbrella in this concept by Shigeru Ban. Connecting older buildings with new ones and forming semi-enclosed public spaces, the new addition will act as the company’s headquarters. Large pale crosses dot the lattice in a nod to the company’s brand identity.

Metropol Parasol by J. MAYER H. Architects

“Realized as one of the largest and most innovative ended timber-constructions with a polyurethane coating, the parasols grow out of the archaeological excavation site into a contemporary landmark, defining a unique relationship between the historical and the contemporary city,” says J. Mayer H. Architects of their creation Metropol Parasol. The waffle-like structure in Seville, Spain incorporates the archaeological site as well as a farmer’s market, bars and restaurants over 18,000 square meters. The parasols form plazas and also offer an elevated rooftop walkway from which to view the city.

Contemporary Hillside Home by Jose Ulloa Davet + Delphine Ding

This mountain home in Tunquen, Chile is anything but a rustic cabin despite its raw timber construction, with a path snaking its way from ground level all the way up onto the roof. Conceived as both a private space and a platform for outdoor activities, the “Metamorfosis” house is raw and modern at once, providing breathtaking views of the scenery.

Space Lab by Kohki Hiranuma Architect & Associates

Stacked cedar planks alternate with glass to create an irregular pattern of light inside the ‘Space Lab,’ a temporary structure at the University of Tokyo made of discarded wood. The experimental space makes a statement on the use of diminishing resources and will also investigate the strength of this construction method over four years. “This ‘Azumaya” architecture of today does not separate inside and outside, and is expected to be variably used for a promotion of domestic materials to just a resting space. And finally this architecture, which utilizes domestic thinned materials, shows one way of regeneration the balance of nature we have destroyed.”

Woven Lattice Dessert Shop by Kengo Kuma + Associates

Thin, criss-crossing timber beams create the effect of a dense forest in this latticed wooden facade on a dessert shop in Tokyo by Kengo Kuma + Associates. The basket-like arrangement ploys an ancient Japanese construction technique called ‘jiigokugumi,’ which joins the individual pieces of wood together without using glue or fasteners.

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Wooden Architecture In The Modern World

Two perfect rectangles of sea and sky are framed like paintings within a surreal wooden observation structure, inviting visitors to experience coastal Denmark from a new perspective. ‘New Horizon’ is a sculpture by Paris-based firm Atelier 37.2 created for the 2015 Sculpture by the Sea festival, drawing in guests from a forested path right to the edge of a hill overlooking the water.

The accordion-like structure stretches in two angled sections, one open to the surrounding woods and the other an enclosed room filled with a chaotic assemblage of planks. This room looks dramatically different depending on the time of day, with sunlight streaming in and highlighting the space itself in the morning. As the sun makes its way to the other side of the sky, the space darkens, putting the focus squarely on the framed viewpoints.

As the artists themselves describe it: “Playing with classical perspective deconstruction, from the inside the horizon line disappears. Experience the landscape as two monochromatic ever-changing Rothko paintings.”

Some tree houses are crafted in organic shapes and materials to blend into their environments or designed as veritable castles in the sky, but these 14 are as modern as arboreal dwellings get. Ranging from a tree hotel in Sweden with a variety of eye-popping options to a simple freestanding backyard structure you can build yourself, these contemporary tree houses might get you daydreaming about your own private tree retreat.

Treehouse Conference Center

Your brainpower might just be multiplied if you attended a work conference in a treehouse like this one. The stimulating environment of a Belgian forest provides the setting for an elevated structure consisting of two large wooden cabins connected by a walkway, with a ramp leading to the grass below. Built by German architectural studio Baumraum, which is responsible for many other gorgeous modern tree houses, this complex is set on 19 stilts.

Beach Rock Treehouse in Japan

Japanese builder Kobayashi Takashi created this domed ‘Beach Rock Treehouse‘ for the sole purpose of communicating with outer space. Seriously. It’s featured in the book ‘New Treehouses of the World,’ in which the author writes “A sparkling beacon among treetops, it is easy to imagine the dome succeeding at its mission to make contact with alien life.”

Tree Snake Houses

Inspired by serpents, these twin treehouses in Pedras Salgadas Park, Portugal take advantage of a sloping hillside. The structures extend out from ground level to hover within the woods, requiring no stairs or ladders to feel as if you’ve ascended into the treetops. Each unit is equipped with a mater bedroom studio space with a small kitchen and wash area.

Prefab Eco Perch

Set it on the ground or put it in the trees – ‘Eco Perch’ by Blue Forest is adaptable to virtually any environment you’d like to place it in. The prefab luxury tree house unit is made of natural materials and can be installed within 5 days, taking up just 6 by 8 meters. The living area, kitchen and bedroom inside can accommodate up to four people.

Modern Treehouse for Kids

Those of us who were lucky enough to have a treehouse as kids often happily made do with little more than a rickety plywood platform and ladder treads nailed into the bark. How fun would it have been to call a two-story treehouse like this one your very own? This freestanding treehouse was built around a pine in the owner’s Nashville backyard.

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Modern Tree Houses 14 Awesome Arboreal Dwellings