Proof of the thoroughness of Timbmet‘s course on specifying timber from well-managed sources came on the journey home. Minutes after getting on the train for from Oxford, I and two architects from Arup were spark out.
But while it was a tiring day for ageing brains, it was a highly valued experience for the architects and specifiers (and one joinery producer) who attended.
For architects, the course at Timbmet’s impressive Timber Centre of Excellence counts as part of their Continuing Professional Development programme. But they were clearly there to do more than tick a box in their end of term CPD report.
The course is co-organised by Greenpeace and includes a presentation from the Forest Stewardship Council (and more details follow in a later edition) and judging by their questions, the architects and specifiers were keen to hear the latest on environmental certification. They were intrigued too by the lesser-known timbers presented by Timbmet’s Mike Packer as alternatives to species which are not available certified in sufficient quantity or at all.
Timbmet’s ‘pupils’ for the day also asked about other certification schemes and their relative merits.
For an interested observer, the enthusiasm of the architects for timber was heartening. But what Timbmet’s initiative also highlighted were the continuing gaps in their knowledge and the need for the industry to continue informing these key market influencers. Most surprising was one architect’s admission he did not know you could get eco-certified softwood and sheet materials.
Against this background, it’s encouraging that the Nordic Timber Council is continuing to fund wood. for good, as is the Timber Trade Federation. For the future the NTC would like to split the cost of the campaign, which targets architects and specifiers in particular, more equally with the UK industry, having so far provided most of the cash. Judging by the hunger for knowledge of those on the Timbmet course, it would be money very well spent.
