The “first” UK-sourced solid timber building is to be built in North Wales by Pochin Special Projects.
The Brettstapel timber panel system will be used in the £1.1m contract to build an extension to the Coed-y-Brenin Cycle Hub, as well as constructing a new facility at the visitor centre on behalf of Forestry Commission Wales.
Several Brettstapel buildings have been constructed in the UK, including Acharacle Primary School, built by Austrian company Sohm HolzBautechnik.
But Pochin’s contract will be the first to use these panels fabricated in the UK.
Brettstapel panels differ from standard “massive wood” building panels, such as cross-laminated timber, in that they do not use glue or metal fixings to bond the lamellas of wood together.
Hardwood dowels, with a moisture content lower than the panels, are used instead. Over time the dowels expand to achieve moisture equilibrium, locking the elements together and creating a structural load-bearing system.
The cycle hub extension will be 66m², while the new 360m² building will increase the capacity of the existing visitor centre.
“This is a very unusual project and it is fantastic to be involved in one of the first buildings in the UK to be using such an innovative and sustainable building method,” said Antony Pochin, operations director for Pochin Special Projects.
