Towers of Steel? Look Again Benton Johnson, an engineer who worked on the report, said that wooden high-rises could help solve the growing worldwide problem of providing adequate housing to the billions of people who are, or will be, living in cities — while also addressing climate change. “We know that we need to build a lot more buildings,” Mr. Johnson said. “And we know that we need to lower CO2.” Until now, tall wooden buildings had been championed by a handful of architects and engineers, mostly from smaller firms overseas and in Canada. They welcomed the Skidmore, Owings &...