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Project

Ascent

The Ascent in Milwaukee is the tallest mass timber structure in the world.

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Project Details

Project Partners
Korb + Associates Architects
Owner
New Land Enterprises LLP & Wiechmann Enterprises
Location
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Completion Date
Area
493,000 ft²
Height
284 ft
Number of Stories
25
Number of Units/Apartments
259
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Courtesy KAA Design Group / Nairn Olker
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Courtesy KAA Design Group / Nairn Olker
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thornton Tomasetti
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Courtesy KAA Design Group / Nairn Olker
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Courtesy KAA Design Group / Nairn Olker
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thornton Tomasetti
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thornton Tomasetti
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thornton Tomasetti
Located in Milwaukee’s East Town neighborhood, the mixed-use Ascent will contain 259 apartments, a pool on the sixth floor, and a top-floor amenity level. Thornton Tomasetti
The Ascent project brings together the many structural, sustainability and aesthetic benefits of mass timber, including an abundant amount of exposed wood in the interior. Thornton Tomasetti
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thornton Tomasetti
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thornton Tomasetti
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thornton Tomasetti
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Courtesy Wiehag Timber Construction
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thornton Tomasetti
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thornton Tomasetti
Ascent in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Courtesy Korb + Associates Architects

Overview

The Ascent in Milwaukee’s East Town neighborhood is the tallest timber structure in the world.  The 493,000-square-foot, mixed-use building contains 259 apartments, a pool on the sixth floor, and a top floor amenity level.

We provided structural design services to Korb & Associates Architects for the building, which opened in 2022. We also led the mass timber design program, including providing inspections of the mass timber system and worked with the USDA's Forest Products Laboratory to complete the world's first three-hour column fire testing program for glulam columns.

 

Highlights

  • The mass timber residential floors are constructed above five levels of concrete parking garage. A system of glue-laminated timber (glulam) beams and columns support cross-laminated timber (CLT) floors. Two concrete cores provide lateral stability.
  • The design exposes the mass timber construction wherever possible to display its natural qualities. Fire testing proved that the timber structural members meet or exceed fire rating code requirements.
  • An efficient system of post-tensioned concrete beams transfer loads from the timber residential floors to the concrete garage structure below.
  • The superstructure is supported on concrete-filled steel pipe piles – the highest capacity piles yet built in Wisconsin. This system minimizes material quantities and reduces installation time, for substantial cost savings.
  • The use of sustainable mass timber helps the building exceed Milwaukee’s energy conservation code requirements. 

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