
At 84 metres and 18 storeys, Mjøstårnet on the shore of Lake Mjøsa is the tallest all-timber building in the world. James Crawford traces it from a sketch on a napkin to a structure raised without scaffolding at almost a floor per week, and finds Norway's largest insurance company confident enough to insure the tower and occupy two of its office floors. He gives the counter-arguments room as well: the building consumed 16,000 spruce and pine trees, and environmental groups warn that demand for mass timber could push logging rotations shorter.
Outlet
The Guardian
Published
August 27, 2026
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Source
The Guardian
British national daily newspaper



