8
news CONFERENCE REPORT: BY JAMES PARKER
Vision London 2016 reveals the sky’s the limit for CLT
by James Parker
Vision London 2016 was the second instalment of the new annual event dedicated to architects, and it captured several of the key themes currently exercising designers’ minds across the UK and internationally. Several conference speakers focused on
the innovative steps being taken in the industry to expand the potential for using cross-laminated timber (CLT), including in multi-storey projects. In an enlightening talk, architect
Fabrizio Rossi of Rossiprodi Associati described the genesis of what were, on completion, Europe’s tallest CLT buildings, part of the 130-apartment Via Cenni development in Milan, for social housing (see image). He said that in the practice’s attempt to create “a rich social relationship, richness of spatial density and richness of the natural scheme, CLT was the natural choice.” Rossiprodi places a big emphasis on the
transitions between external and internal space and providing spaces for people, to help ensure social housing projects can bring
benefits to their
community. The four nine-storey towers plus linear low-rise blocks form a flowing whole, with pedestrian access only, and landscaping fully worked into the plan from the start. Entirely CLT structurally including frame and walls, the project even has timber lift shafts. Matt Stevenson, managing director of
design consultants Carbon Dynamic, described how his firm was using modular CLT to provide a “seamless” way to achieve
flexible buildings
need in various sectors as occupancy requirements change in the short and longer term. He told delegates: “We need buildings that can adapt over time, with walls that can be moved.” Stevenson gave the example of healthcare environments which “can take away people’s dignity due
www.architectsdatafile.co.uk
to all the equipment which may be needed to be brought in, but that can be hidden behind walls.” He said that CLT was ideal for use
in such flexible buildings for its dimensional stability, and also explained how hybrid versions and wood fibre panel structures can avoid expensive overuse. In a session on offsite construction
focused around the potential to create effi- cient CLT buildings, Stevenson said in a climate of austerity client expectations needed to be raised: “It’s about leveraging the change that they didn’t know they needed.” He also explained how his firm was promoting and using co-design approaches with clients including hospital end-users to positive effect. Legal and General Homes’ business
development head of CLT solutions Craig Liddell revealed how the company has created the UK’s first CLT plant near Leeds, a 650,000 ft2
facility housing the
what’s thought to be the world’s biggest press producing panels up to 5 m wide. He said that the company’s approach was “heavily BIM orientated” and “akin to the automotive industry.” He said the move means the UK now has a homegrown CLT supply providing the ideal means to create high quality affordable modular housing. Finnish architect Anssi Lassila of Oopea presented the country’s first
high-rise CLT building, a lightweight eight-storey structure designed by Oopea and built by Stora Enso in six months. He said that the only limitations placed on designs were those from the CLT factory itself, so co-operation in creating such projects was “damn important”. He also explained that while such modular timber approaches were more expensive in terms of materials, savings could be had by not having to isolate concrete against the weather, in addition to substantial time savings and reduced disruption. Other key issues in focus at Vision
included BIM and the Internet of Things; Antonio Pisano, director at Marcel Mauer Architecture, spoke about the design implications of clients’ requirements in terms of the IoT: “Architects need to understand the dataset that is relevant for the client and design around it.” He also described how smart devices can be used “to measure where the world is going,” showing how heat maps for example were used to show “social value” at the King’s Cross development in London. Finally Chapman Taylor Architects
revealed a scalable solution to address the UK’s housing crisis – Umbrellahaus – which is seeing a Chinese firm supplying fully fitted steel containers to the architect’s
specification for
assembly into modular housing blocks up to 22 stories high.
rapid
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84