At over 300m-long glulam-framed ‘tube’ building at Canary Wharf, which will house a retail centre above the station, will match the scale of the surrounding skyscrapers.
The building will use 1,000m3 of glulam and 1,500 steel connectors.
"That’s less timber than you might have imagined due to the fact that the gridshell frame is very efficient in terms of strength to weight," said UK sales director John Spittle, adding that Wiehag is due to start delivering the timber in August.
While it’s a show stopper, the Crossrail project "is just one of a growing number of projects" Wiehag is undertaking in the UK, with interest from "retailers, the health sector, contractors, architects and engineers". And the significance of the market is, to an extent, reflected in the company’s decision to dip its toe into CLT, which is increasingly popular here.
"In fact we’re at the design phase with Kier on a CLT health centre in Lowestoft," said Mr Spittle.
The company, he added, was moving into the market "gently".
"We’re currently buying in CLT and just looking to expand our offer, particularly to undertake glulam and CLT hybrid structures. But making our own may also be a longer-term option."
