EDUCATION & SCHOOLS
KEBONY SCHOOL DEVELOPERS ON THE BENEFITS OF TIMBER
With the success of their latest project, cladding a Danish school with wood, Adrian Pye, International Director at Kebony, discusses the environmental, cost-saving and low-maintenance benefits of using timber in new build and extension projects.
Sustainability and corporate social responsibility are becoming increasingly important as builders, developers and architects come under mounting pressure to use wood traceability schemes. Sustainable alternatives such as that offered by Cleantech 100 Company, Kebony, are proving popular and represent a substantial and growing sector of the market, particularly in the area of cladding.
Modified wood cladding provides a viable alternative to both tropical hardwood and chemically modified woods such as copper-impregnated wood, which are harmful to the environment and expensive to maintain.
Kebony’s latest project is a collaboration with Arkitema Architects at Gentofte School. The new addition to the school in Denmark creates a further 460m² of space, which can accommodate 100 children, spread across two floors. The extension houses three classrooms, a common room and a double height workshop as well as a large roof terrace.
The designers, Arkitema Architects, worked in close collaboration with the school’s management and teaching teams to ensure the space was practical and ergonomic for both the primary classes and the after school activities. The interior has also been constructed with the unique needs of the pupils in mind, resulting in an innovative range of uses. For example, it is possible to drive cars in through the double doors located at the entrance, rendering the building operational as an engineering workshop. Additional functions of
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The selection of sustainable materials is of paramount importance to the ensuing sustainability of a building. Treated timber has the ability to bypass the need for maintenance, painting or varnishing, meaning that it is as ergonomically sound as it is environmental and it is therefore unsurprising that it is fast becoming the choice of people across the construction industry. What we can learn from the proliferation of these new technologies and methods is that the future of timber in construction is filled with the potential to incorporate innovative and imaginative ways to meet demands for sustainability in building.
the building are equally inventive, the double height space can serve as an orangery; in-keeping with the ecological theme of the build.
Sustainability was key to the design ethos, leading to the decision to clad the entire façade of the new extension, just under 400m², in Kebony wood. The use of sustainable Kebony wood also means that the façade is totally maintenance free and will not be susceptible to damage through wear and weathering in the future. Consequently, the façade will soon be covered by a ‘vertical forest’ with a depth of up to 60cm and a wall of climbing plants that will eventually house birds and insects.
As a building material, Kebony is providing a world of potential for architects who are sensitive to the ecological pressures of the day but who are unprepared to compromise on look and finish. As attempts to create new sustainable materials for the construction industry flourish, Kebony leads the way and new applications for their wood are being pioneered around the world.
Through a diverse and highly impressive project portfolio, Kebony has proved versatile and ergonomic, proving its worth in the home, out of doors and within intricate designed products. From the cruel Norwegian winters to the blazing heat of the African sun, this wood has shown its mettle and continues to outperform the alternatives. Technologies such as Kebony champion new possibilities for wood as a construction material and are a prudent selection for architects and specifiers in the modern, sustainably-focused era.
www.kebony.com
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