NETTA continues timber promotion
8 March 2014NETTA's aim is to make timber a natural choice for designers and specifiers, says chairman James Southern
The North East Timber Trade Association (NETTA) continues to promote the use of timber and forestry products throughout our region, which stretches from Northumberland to Nottinghamshire.
In January, the 27th Annual NETTA Structural Timber Award was presented at the annual Newcastle dinner. Students from Northumbria University had to design a specialist library with an emphasis on use of forestry products. NETTA runs another competition with the Nottingham University School of the Built Environment and in February the committee met at the university to receive a presentation from the winning student on his structural project and to understand how the university promotes the use of timber. NETTA works with both universities in conjunction with TRADA's university liaison manager, Elizabeth Turner, helping with the input of creating the projects, sponsoring them and giving out prizes.
The designs and solutions the students come up with are superb and ingenious, displaying significant talent. NETTA's aim is to be a cog in the development and education of these students so that when they move on from higher education they do so with our products in mind.
It's not just universities that we work with however. We currently sponsor an annual award at Leeds School of the Built Environment and are now engaging with Hull College. NETTA's interaction with a number of forestry schools in our region continues. Plus we subscribe to Wood Campus - visit www.woodcampus.co.uk to see their informative website.
Our latest venture is assisting Bede's World, the Anglo Saxon museum on Tyneside, with their purchase of larch logs so that they can build a replica timber boat from the dark ages. Hundreds of local children are expected to help with this structure, which will eventually sail on the Tyne and out to sea with those same children and more experiencing the opportunity to get on the water. Our drive to get timber and forestry products embedded in the syllabus for tomorrow's designers, specifiers and architects continues.
