'Plyscraper': The tower blocks made from wood

Story highlights Wood is making a comeback as a construction material New engineered woods allow for greater strength and heights in buildings

Despite its historical reputation for great city fires -- London in 1666, the Great Chicago fire of 1871 and San Francisco in 1906 -- wood is making a comeback as a construction material.

Next year in Vienna, construction will begin on a 275-foot building made almost entirely of wood, while Stockholm may build a 34-story wooden apartment by 2023. Others are in the pipeline from Canada to Australia to Europe.

With faster construction times and a softer environmental impact, could the building material of the past be the future of construction?

Vancouver-based architect Michael Green says the momentum is gaining as new engineered woods allow for greater strength and heights in buildings.

His firm MGA recently completed a 29.5m (97 feet) wooden building, the Wood Innovation and Design Center in Prince George, Northern British Columbia.

But he said news of taller wooden structures is sprouting up all the time.

"There seems to be a new announcement every two or three weeks," Green said. "We've got one in Vancouver for 18 stories and in Vienna there's one for more than 20 stories.

"We've done research in high earthquake zones that show 30 stories is feasible; we certainly think we can go to 40 and higher."

He said new developments in engineered woods -- small wood components that are glued together to make large panels for building -- are a game-changer for construction.

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'Plyscraper': The tower blocks made from wood