About 130 architects and engineers packed into London’s Building Centre on Kyoto Day to discover the sustainability benefits of designing engineered timber structures.
The wood. for good “Building Sustainably with Timber” seminar, held on the day the Kyoto climate change protocol became legally binding, featured presentations from three engineered timber experts.
Wood. for good managing director Charles Trevor said: “The attendance at the seminar shows that today’s engineers and architects have a real appetite for information on timber structures.”
Speaker Andrew Lawrence, of Arup Research and Development, told attendees that glulam and Kerto LVL were the most exciting recent developments in timber. He showed how the materials have been used in the Scottish Parliament building and Darlaston swimming pool.
Gordon Cowley, of Timber Engineering Connections, encouraged the audience to respond to the challenge of designing in wood, while Michael Keller of Finnforest-MERK said timber was a three-dimensional material that could be made to match architects’ drawings.
Mr Keller, who featured Finnforest-MERK projects such as the Expo roof in Hannover, said timber could compete on price with steel and concrete provided timber specialists are involved early in the design process.
Wood. for good’s third and final seminar, which focuses on housebuilding, will be held on March 2. The series is designed to help designers, builders and their clients understand timber’s role in mitigating climate change, plus other sustainability benefits of using wood.
