Summary

  • Sustainability and low carbon building created the perfect audience for timber companies.
  • Engineered wood construction, flooring, conservatories, windows and solid timber featured.
  • Exhibitors were drawn by the chance to “wow” specifiers with innovative products and methods.
  • The message about timber and sustainability still needs to be spread.

Low carbon building and sustainable building practices were the focus of the Building Design exhibition 100% Detail at Earls Court last month, presenting an opportunity for timber to shine in front of an audience of architects and specifiers.

The show is in its fifth year and is set to exceed last year’s visitor numbers of more than 22,000 over four days. Wood took centre stage – literally. The imposing Finnforest Merk theatre, constructed in bare LVL, dominated the central piazza with the eye-catching Gordon Cowley geodesic dome of red oak that framed The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) stand.

The engineered wood sector, with some flooring businesses, conservatories and the Wood Awards, which unveiled its 2007 shortlist, represented the industry and were unanimous that the show had been right for their marketing budgets.

Karl Heinz Weiss, a director of KLH UK, the German-based supplier of cross-laminated solid timber, was celebrating adding the final touches to a project to build a nine-storey residential development for Telford Homes in Hackney (Timber Building Autumn 2007). “We came here because we meet the kind of architects and specifiers that want to build these kinds of buildings,” he said.

The 27-unit building will require 1,000m3 of KLH’s spruce boards glued cross-wise under high pressure and factory-cut to plans submitted by the construction companies. Work begins in January and Mr Weiss says the building is due to go up in eight weeks.

“This is the third time we have been at the exhibition since we started in the UK in 2005 and it has been a tremendous success,” said Mr Weiss. “The show is in the middle of our target group and last year the feedback was immense. We had up to 30 enquiries a month for three or fours months afterward.”

Timbmet, which was making its first appearance at the show, hoped the more aesthetic side of the exhibition, the accompanying 100% Design show, would be a draw for its construction products. On the stand was its range of decorated panels, made from patterned MDF panels. Marketing co-ordinator Nina Tee said: “They are finished at the edges and can be used for whole walls or as decorative features. This is something we hope will be of interest to architects and specifiers, and draw their attention. We have our engineered wood components, which we believe are also innovative, and that’s why we are here. One of the main reasons is to get the message out to the specifiers that are looking for innovative products.”

Eurban, the contractor that specialises in the design and construction of solid timber building structures, was making its fifth appearance at the show. Director Jonathan Fovargue also said it gave him access to the right audience. “We are looking for the people who want to find out about timber. And I think it is starting to happen. wood for good has been good showing timber in construction. Now we need to grow the message about sustainability and the environment.”

Strength test

The need to shout the message about timber was made clear when a health and safety officer appeared unannounced on the AHEC stand. He had heard about a demonstration of the integrity of the solid timber pergola involving 17-stone British powerlifting celebrity Stuart Hamilton, who was to be suspended from the apex of the structure. After demanding a written risk assessment, the official also insisted the area within the pergola be cleared during the demo – which was a success!

Timber engineer Mr Cowley, the man behind such spectacular structures as the Cutty Sark Pavilion, revealed later that a customer request to hang a chandelier from a similar pergola resulted in a structural engineer giving a load bearing rating of half a tonne.

AHEC European director David Venables said the structure was an important “wow factor” exhibit for the organisation and its current focus on red oak. “It is an extremely important construction timber for Europe. It has taken off in southern Europe with the Italians and the Spanish making doors and mouldings. In northern Europe it is not so common, but there are some fine examples such as at the Northampton School for Boys (Timber Building Summer 2007).”

And another message, which evidently needed to be heard was the challenge in achieving government carbon emission targets. Trevor Beattie, director of corporate strategy at English Partnerships, told a seminar that there were too many token construction projects. Meeting current codes added £8,000 to the cost of a home and to meet the final targets for 2016 would be closer to £40,000. “We have to flatten that curve,” he said.