Timber building Today's hot news
14 October 2011The UK's tallest timber high rise is reaching for the London skyline and hitting the headlines.
Great publicity for timber building in general and cross-laminated timber (CLT) building in particular on Radio 4’s flagship Today programme this morning.
Nick Higham’s report on the show on the eight-storey Bridport House, which is being built by specialist contractor Eurban using Stora Enso prefabricated CLT panels, just pressed all the right buttons.
Timber building scores environmentally as it locks in carbon and is inherently low energy to construct and maintain. Check. That was mentioned.
Timber building is not an inherent fire risk. And, if exposed to flame, cross-laminated timber panels will char, protecting the main body of the wood from catching fire. Check. That was made ultra clear by one of the construction team.
And the UK needs to use more wood in construction in the future if it’s going to hit government targets to cut emissions and become a truly low carbon economy. Check. That was the sign off from the report.
Oh, and just to blow the trumpet of TTJ and sister title Timber & Sustainable Building magazine, where we ran a feature on Bridport House in our Autumn edition, we played a minor role in the story too. While planning the report a few weeks back, Nick Higham called our news editor Stephen Powney for contacts and to discuss the building and cross-laminated timber construction.
