Journalists always like an excuse for a bit of gratuitous Churchill quoting, so I’m especially glad I was at the Institute of Wood Science‘s Jubilee conference last week. The call from architects and designers at the event really was “give us the tools and we’ll finish the job”.
The conference theme was “Wood – a Modern Material for a Modern World” and the impressive line-up of speakers agreed that this was precisely how they saw it.
Amanda Bailleu, editor of RIBA Journal, said architects used to view timber building as “retrogressive” and “folksy”. But no longer. Today they’re turning away from undiluted glass and steel and looking to use wood more and more. This is reflected in the growing number of Wood Awards candidates featured in RIBA Journal itself.
It’s not only that timber presses the sustainability buttons, said Ms Bailleu. It also appeals on its inherent versatility and ability to co-ordinate with other materials.
Rob Firman, whose projects included the Wales Millennium Centre, is clearly one of the growing body of timber-oriented architects, describing it as “the most ancient of modern materials”. But he was also one of the speakers who said the timber industry needs to act to make the most of its opportunities. It must rise to the “challenges of architecture to wood”. This included, in particular, educating “risk averse” building contractors who try to curb architects’ timber enthusiasm because of their own lack of knowledge.
The education theme was picked up by furniture manufacturer Luke Hughes. To maintain timber’s momentum, he said, more also has to be done to get technical and design information to architects themselves. Many more want to use wood, but are deterred by lack of confidence. “Accessible data” is needed and a “co-ordinated plan to educate the next generation of architects”.
A key part of this, Mr Hughes suggested, should be field trips for architects and designers to timber businesses to learn about “purchase, storage, conversion and machining”. In short, he urged the industry as a whole to give them the tools to finish the job.
