The world’s biggest greenhouse, the Eden Project, hosted a ‘Plants in Construction’ month in May, ably supported by TRADA (TTJ May 4). TRADA, which became one of the Eden Project’s partners in June 2001, ran a series of talks for the public throughout the month, ranging from the reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to the environmental merits of timber in construction. As TRADA chief executive Dr Chris Gill said: “TRADA and the broader timber industry can relate wholeheartedly to Eden’s aims. We all appreciate the need to educate the public, specifiers and users of timber about the value of the forest resource and the environmental qualities wood can offer, but the real challenge is to build understanding in successive generations.”
The association has identified an important role for its members in underpinning what Eden has set out to do and is to supply technical knowledge for ongoing developments and timber information for use in Eden’s interpretative material.
One major joint project will be the design and construction of a ‘green’ building to be erected close to the main site.
Past, present and future
UK-grown timber for building in the past, present and future was the subject of Charley Brentnall’s talk. Mr Brentnall, of Carpenter Oak & Woodland Co Ltd, informed the public that the use of home-grown timber was widespread and increasing in popularity.
Demonstrating that the timber industry has officially adopted bamboo, Lionel Jayanetti and Paul Follett of TRADA International followed with a workshop entitled ‘Grow your own house’.
“Bamboo is a truly renewable, environmentally friendly material,” said Messrs Jayanetti and Follett. “It is adaptable to most climatic conditions and soil types, acting as an effective carbon sink and helping to counter the greenhouse effect. It is finding increasing use in land stabilisation, to check erosion and conserve soil.
Timbmet Ltd’s chief executive officer Simon Fineman continued the theme of making environmentally responsible choices in his presentation. “If we look around our homes, timber features throughout – in the structure, the floorboards, windows, doors and furniture,” he said.
“There is clearly a demand for wood… but there is an underlying public perception that it is somehow wrong to cut trees down. However, sustainable forestry practice is good for the environment. And if forests have a commercial as well as environmental value, they can support local and national economies and allow for reinvestment for future generations.”
Dr Paul Newman of TRADA Technology Ltd advised visitors of timber’s many applications. “Timber is light and strong. It is easily worked and fixed with nails, screws and bolts or with glues,” he said.
“It can be processed in many ways to produce flat boards like plywood, chipboard and hardboard. It can be glued into large sections for beams and bridges. Best of all, this versatile material which man has used for centuries can last forever. It is the only renewable construction material – just because it grows on trees.”
Prestigious reconstruction
Two workshops at the end of the month focused on prestigious reconstruction projects that had drawn extensively on
traditional woodworking skills.
Peter McCurdy of McCurdy & Co Ltd, the company responsible for the re-building of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre told his audience that the archaeological reconstruction had demanded painstaking research and analysis, looking at historic buildings and building forms from the period and examining carpentry methodology and other building techniques used in London in 1599.
English oak was the subject of Tim and Roger Venables of Henry Venables Ltd as they described their role in the restoration of Windsor Castle following a devastating fire a decade ago.
“The restoration has cost £38m in total, but the beauty of the finished work is undeniable,” informed the Venables. “English oak, eminently suited to the task, has been used extensively, ranging from laminated kiln-dried oak in the private chapel ceiling to green oak in the lofty ceiling of St George’s Hall.”
In his lecture, Roger Venables described how the oak was selected, from tree to sawmill, kiln, moulding mill and into the castle.
The final workshop, by Dr Penny Bienz of the Timber Trade Federation‘s Forests Forever, returned to timber’s environmental credentials with ‘Use wood to protect the environment’.
“The variety of materials that the construction industry may use includes wood, metals, concrete and glass,” she said.
“Nowadays it is important to compare the environmental merits of these building materials and account for the environmental impact at all stages of a product’s life cycle. Research has indicated that timber, with its low processing inputs and ability to be recycled, is the environmental material of choice.”
