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New advances in timber construction

  • by JW

The growing importance of trees, woodlands and timber

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Woodlands serve many purposes – including providing all sorts of habitats:

Species shift: climate change and habitat loss

And something called ‘ecosystem services’:

Natural capital: our natural resources

This includes the production of that wonderful renewable resource: timber – and one of the Sid Valley’s major landowners, Clinton Devon Estates, is also a large producer of timber:

clintondevon.com/woodland/

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Timber is becoming increasingly recognised as an important resource, with this from Arch Daily:

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Timber Trends: 7 To Watch for 2020

The history of timber construction stretches back as far as the Neolithic period, or potentially even earlier, when humans first began using wood to build shelters from the elements. The appearance of the first polished stone tools, such as knives and axes, then made wood handling more efficient and precise, increasing the thickness of wood sections and their resistance. Over the decades, the rustic appearance of these early constructions became increasingly orthogonal and clean, as a result of standardization, mass production, and the emergence of new styles and aesthetics.

Today we are experiencing another seminal moment within the evolution of timber. Nourished and strengthened by technological advances, new prefabrication systems, and a series of processes that increase its sustainability, safety, and efficiency, timber structures are popping up in the skylines of cities and in turn, is reconnecting our interior spaces with nature through the warmth, texture, and beauty of wood. Where will this path lead us? Below, we review 7 trends that suggest this progress is only set to continue, increasing both the capabilities and height of timber buildings in the years to come…

5: Climate Action Policies: Governments Boost the Use of Timber

Global concerns to mitigate climate change have prompted some cities and governments to consider the embodied emissions of the materials we use to construct buildings, particularly the sum of all the energy required to extract, process, manufacture, transport, build, and maintain each material. With this consideration in mind, timber appears to be an attractive option, since according to many studies it can achieve less embodied and operational emissions in comparison to concrete and steel. In addition, the prefabrication of timber components with precision can deliver a highly efficient building envelope that improves insulation, saves on heating and cooling and minimizes thermal bridging.

The city of Vancouver, for example, is seeking to limit the emissions involved in the construction of new buildings by addressing them in the Greenest City 2020 strategic plan. In the near future, all developers will be required to report the embodied emissions for all chosen materials, with the objective of “reducing embodied carbon from new buildings and construction projects between now and 2030 by 40%.”

Timber Trends: 7 To Watch for 2020 | archdaily.com

Free Images : vintage, floor, roof, old, barn, shed, beam, ceiling …

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See also:

Circular construction: a solution to embodied carbon in buildings

Architecture and climate change