Innovation and communication

 The number of new innovations in the sector is ever growing and there are new opportunities for timber’s use, which will in turn support the requirement for an increasingly sustainable construction sector. Our campaign this year takes in these two themes to communicate how the material offers a solution to tackle the UK’s housing crisis.

The UK’s housebuilding productivity is far below where it needs to be – each year the government’s target of 250,000 new homes annually is missed, the problem grows. In addition, with the UK legally bound to targets set at the climate change conference COP 21 in Paris last year, and with the built environment a significant contributor to CO2 emissions, ensuring sustainability of new homes needs to be a priority.

However, with the Green Deal initiative now closed and government subsidies for solar panels significantly reduced, the housebuilding sector is having to look elsewhere to meet sustainability goals.

Architects are increasingly tasked with considering the best use of space, technology and materials to improve the energy efficiency of planned schemes.

This year’s campaign picks up on these requirements to promote the benefits of using the material among architects – both in terms of speed and sustainability. The connection between timber and the sustainability of the built environment was broadly discussed at the first of four Wood for Good conferences kicking off this year’s campaign. Speakers, led by architect Peter Wilson, will discuss new initiatives driving the use of wood. The first event’s line-up of speakers included experts like Charlie Law, founder of Sustainable Construction Solutions, who demonstrated how a timber-based circular economy could reduce waste and improve environmental credentials of the construction sector, and Matthew Benson of Rettie & Co who discussed a new financial model for design-led housebuilding.

The conference also explored real life projects like the University of Dundee’s self-sufficient timber house - the UK’s first zero-energy building at Dundee’s Botanic Gardens. In addition, new access to timber research was presented, through initiatives like Construction Scotland Innovation Centre’s timber development centre, which will open research equipment up to Scottish SME contractors and architects.

Timber’s potential is big. This is already being recognised on large-scale development projects, like the new 80-storey, timber-frame skyscraper in London, for which plans have been submitted to the Mayor. Timber holds many of the solutions to the conficting challenges of meeting housing needs while improving sustainability of the built environment and this will be at the core of our campaign throughout this year.