Attendees from across the built environment gathered at Timber Square, London on 17 June for an event hosted by PEFC UK in collaboration with Built by Nature to explore the benefits of responsible timber construction and PEFC certification.
Held within one of the UK’s most ambitious mass timber developments, the event highlighted the role of responsible sourcing – with the project on the cusp of being awarded PEFC Project Certification for its mass timber elements – and unpicked some of the ways that timber delivers commercially viable, low-carbon buildings while addressing issues such as fire safety, insurance, circularity and material availability.
The venue itself provided a powerful example of all these. Delivered by Landsec in partnership with main contractor Mace, Timber Square combines the retrofit of the existing Print Building with a new hybrid timber and reused steel structure 15-storey Ink Building. Now the UK’s tallest hybrid timber building, it incorporates 6,300m³ of PEFC-certified cross laminated timber (CLT) and glulam supplied by Stora Enso (a volume of spruce that can be regrown in only 42 minutes in European forests). Retaining around 80% of the structure of the former print works, the project demonstrates how material reuse and mass timber can work together to meet ambitious net zero standards while delivering premium commercial space.
Opening presentations from Landsec’s Gregor Haran and Bennetts Associate’s Tomas Kangro illustrated the advantages of the building’s hybrid structure and ‘human centred, energy efficient and fabric first approach’. Using a DfMA mindset, part of the project success has been responding to a ‘clear and concise project brief’ to engage stakeholders early to successfully deliver timber buildings at scale.
PEFC UK’s Executive Director John Kirkby, provided a detailed overview of the newly launched PEFC Project Sourcing Standard. As demand for transparency grows, this certification option offers an ambitious and flexible way to showcase sustainable building practices and material sourcing.
Among the day’s many highlights was a presentation from architect Andrew Waugh – a leading exponent of timber design – highlighting award-winning examples in the UK, including The Black and White Building, the iconic Dalston Works and Murray Grove. Dr Pablo van der Lugt gave an energetic presentation surrounding his recent book ‘The Timber Truth’ that challenges 16 myths and misconceptions about timber design, forestry and wood supply chains. This will also form the basis of an upcoming PEFC UK CPD.
Built by Nature’s Paul King laid out the challenges ahead globally for the timber sector, as the built environment size is forecast to double in the next 35 years. There was also a screening of the organisation’s new film ‘Our Future: Built by Nature’, and an explanation of Built by Nature’s five Principles for Responsible Timber Construction that are quickly gaining traction and have already been endorsed by a number of governments, including the UK. Costa Rica has gone a step further and incorporated the principles into its national building codes.
From the Netherlands, ORGA Architect’s Gijs Bruggink and Daan Bruggink outlined some of the findings from the recent Built by Nature-funded research on ‘Wood & Wellbeing’ and provided examples of where they have used biophilic principles in there designs, in particular the De Verwondering biophilic school, an innovative, entirely bio-based and ecological elementary school located in Almere, Netherlands, that shows how important timber and bio-based design can be to the health, behaviour and learning capacity of pupils.
Dr. Joe Jack Williams of Bywater – with its links to Sumitomo Forestry – explained some of the ways that they are approaching timber and low carbon design with a view to long term developments and buildings lasting far into the future.
Afternoon technical sessions from the Structural Timber Association’s Technical Director, Dr. Paul Newman covered potential building regulation changes surrounding Approved Document B (England). While still under consultation, it could have profound implications for tall timber buildings in the UK. A final session focused on the essentials for obtaining insurance for mass timber buildings, from Vista Insurance’s Samantha Ferneley, whose headline message was that there should be no issue in insuring mass timber buildings and provided some refreshingly honest and practical insights into the challenges for insurers, with a key takeaway being that ‘uncertainty’ is what concerns insurers the most about the industry – much more than timber as a material or its fire and moisture risks.
“It was a fascinating day’s discussion and a huge thanks to all the speakers and attendees for their valuable time,” said PEFC UK’s John Kirkby. “It pulled into focus why timber plays a fundamental part of achieving a healthier, low carbon and attractive built environment. PEFC UK is playing a major role in helping make sure that this approach is underpinned by chain of custody certification and clear material traceability that provides the assurance to end users that timber is originating from responsible sources. Our new Project Sourcing Standard offers a pathway to this, and Timber Square is a showcase building for this bold approach.”