Creative and Stunning: Tall timber Buildings’ Rising Profile
High rise timber buildings are becoming more common around the world. A global wave of new buildings, more radical building proposals and research using engineered timber has resulted in 40 such buildings that are completed, under construction or planned.
Engineered wood such as glulam and CLT can provide structural integrity and fire resistance that is superior to conventional ‘platform’ timber frame construction and comparable to those provided by materials that most skyscrapers are made of – concrete and steel.
Significant obstacles remain, however. Many local building regulations and fire codes prohibit the construction of wood structures above five or six storeys. But the local codes are still based on platform timber construction and have not yet all caught up with the development of engineered timber, which can demonstrate fire performance comparable to concrete and superior to steel.
Another significant obstacle is the lack of standardisation of construction materials, methods and definitions. There are many different types of engineered timber and a large degree of variance when it comes to constructing tall timber structures. Often it is the location and orientation of steel connectors between the timber elements that govern how long a structure can withstand fire or how much seismic movement it can take.
Most mass timber buildings use a combination of timber, steel and concrete, with timber relating to only the primary structural system such as the core, floor beams or horizontal trusses, and vertical columns. Many rely on a concrete core or concrete slabs in order to provide stability and fire protection that will satisfy local codes.
To read the full article, which is taken from the Timber 2018 Industry Yearbook, please click here:
Original link - Trada
Hear more about the Potential of Tall Timber at Solid Wood Solutions
Tall timber skyscrapers are becoming an international phenomenon.
By using engineered timber as a construction material for residential
developments - nature can re-enter urban spaces.
Taking place on 05 July at the outstanding Oculus, University of Warwick, Solid Wood Solutions will
host leading companies specialising in engineered timber to shine a
spotlight on pioneering projects through informative case studies
presented by those who conceived and developed the buildings that are
gaining global attention. This event presents a great opportunity to
gain insight and network with those who are shaping the future of the
engineered timber industry.
Speakers include:
Giancarlo Torpiano - Structural Engineer at Arup
Jonathan Roynon - Associate Director at Buro Happold
Kelly Harrison - Associate at Heyne Tillett Steel
John Spittle - Sales Director for England & Wales at Wiehag
Nic Clark - Managing Director at KLH UK
Gavin White - Director at Ramboll
Kevin Flanagan - Partner at PLP Architecture
David Lomax - Senior Associate at Waugh Thistleton
Neil Eaton - Director at Berman Guedes Stretton Architects
Daniel Kreissig - Sales & Estimation UK at ZÜBLIN Timber
Max Garcia - Design & Engineering Manager Carbon Dynamic
Robin Lancashire - Senior Timber Frame Consultant TRADA
Darren Richards - Managing Director at Cogent Consulting
Niall Crosson - Group Technical Manager at Ecological Building Systems UK
Robert Hairstans - Head of the Centre for Offsite Construction & Innovative Structures at Edinburgh Napier University
For further information or to book tickets, go to: www.solidwoodsolutions.co.uk/
