“ Buchardt wanted to prove that , by using local resources and companies , you can construct something of this size to highlight what we in Norway call the
‘ green shift ’”
- Rune Abrahamsen , CEO , Moelven Limtre
Fear of fire Clearly Mjøstårnet is set to be a striking structure that suggests a positive step towards a CO2 neutral society . But there remains one big discussion point around the viability of timber as a central building material : the risk of fire . “ We have a lot of experience in building these large projects , for example the Treet in Bergen , and one of the questions we often get asked is around fire . It ’ s , understandably , a big issue for people . However , the kind of structure we ’ ve developed is very well suited to high-rise buildings because the cross sections we build meet the necessary fire requirements based on charring ,” says Abrahamsen . “ With a building as high as this one you need to prove it can deal with a ‘ burnout ’ situation . All buildings really should be divided into fire cells and if you have a fire in one , say in an apartment or a meeting room , the fire burns everything that can be burnt in that cell but eventually there is nothing more to burn and it stops .”
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