Tallest wood tower plan for Paris

PLANS have been unveiled to build the world's tallest wood building on the outskirts of Paris.

The 35-storey project, called Baobab, was submitted to the urban ideas competition Réinventez Paris earlier this week and is being developed by the Canadian architect Michael Green, French firm DVVD and an eco-construction specialist, REI France.

The eco-friendly tower would be carbon-neutral and would include social housing, a student hotel, e-car recharging and other amenities.

Mr Green told Archdaily: "Our goal is that through innovation, youthful social contact and overall community building, we have created a design that becomes uniquely important to Paris.

"Just as Gustave Eiffel shattered our conception of what was possible a century and a half ago, this project can push the envelope of wood innovation with France in the forefront. The Pershing Site [in the 17th arrondissement] is the perfect moment for Paris to embrace the next era of architecture.”

The wood could store up to 3,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide - the equivalent of 2,200 car emissions each year.