[Rizzo]

Heavy timber isn't all that much more dangerous than steel, which will deflect and fail when exposed to fire. Of course, our solution is to fireproof steel. It's done the same for wood. If code permits highrise woodframe construction, you'll usually encase members in several layers of sheetrock. You can usually achieve some pretty high fire ratings by building up around the columns. If heavy timber is used, the outside surface of the wood will form a protective char and maintain quite a bit of strength and rigidity, even after the fire is extinguished. Of course that is worst case scenario. Usually the sprinkler system will knock out the fire before things get worse.

Again, my fear IS the exposure to water. Like any material it's a problem but with wood you have more problems besides weakening strength, like mold, insects, and chemicals.

I imagine the entire building envelope is glass with aluminum framing with some wood planks projected over the glass for aesthetic reasons. If code allows, you can pour concrete over a wood structure. It's done all the time here in Chicago to boost fire ratings. They'll go into old wood frame factory buildings and just start pouring over the old floor to level things out a bit and provide some extra protection.