Vertical relative displacements in a medium-rise CLT-building.

Several buildings have been built using clt-panels (cross-laminated timber) in Sweden and Europe during the last few years. There are various advantages of using clt in the load-bearing system instead of using the conventional stud and rail technique. One of the major advantages is that the technique enables larger freedom for the architect since the capacity of the panels for vertical as well as for horizontal loads is much higher as compared to conventional timber building technique using studs and rails. This implies that the design of the structure is not to the same extent as before limited due to the chosen material of load bearing system but enables the usage of wood in more complex structures that were not likely to be built with wood before.