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FROM THE EDITOR


T


here is a strong case to be made that timber has now become architects’ favourite material, following a few decades when steel and glass (not to mention the perennial 20th century contender, concrete), dominated. Architects, driven by the twin desires to build more sustainably


and with wellbeing at the core, have always turned to timber. However with modular housing now becoming flavour of the month/year, the triple threat is going to lead to some waves breaking across the whole construction industry.


The realities of embracing not only volume housebuilding, but a new construction approach in the form of modular timber, seem to have proved more daunting than expected for Legal & General. Notwithstanding, the insurer now looks to be ready to build its first modular timber homes, fresh from its new factory. Apparently, L&G Homes struggled to find CLT of the desired tolerances to do what it wanted, which shows that while the CLT revolution is truly that, doing it in practice is far from simple.


L&G Homes aims to build between 10,000 and 15,000 homes a year within five years, and owning Cala Homes means that it has a foothold in sites, meaning it has at least some of the challenges covered. It is going to build 650 homes for rent on a brownfield site it has acquired next to a new Crossrail station in Woolwich, which sounds like the ideal showcase to present what modular CLT can do.


The big issue is that this kind of innovation is really going to put the cat among the pigeons in terms of the UK’s traditional (some might say moribund) adherence to brick-and-block house construction. While apartment blocks have embraced various alternative materials over the decades (and are arguably a better use of land), housing tends to be in the grip of the major volume builders, who prefer the supply chains and methods (not to mention the density levels) they know, and can control.


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Modular timber is of course an entirely different way of doing it, ensuring things are sorted pre-site, and with minimal time and effort – comparatively – spent on site. The beam-and-post simplicity of the Tallwood House project in Vancouver (which was reported in ADF March 2018), shows just what is possible in tall buildings – an 18 storey timber structure, albeit with concrete cores. The question is, whether major UK builders will embrace, or resist, the rise of timber in housebuilding.


In this supplement devoted to design and construction using timber, we cover all bases, from a watchtower in the Netherlands, to PLP’s staggering proposals for tall urban towers constructed entirely from wood. We hope you find it illuminating reading.


James Parker Editor


TIMBER IN 08.18


ARCHITECTURE adf


ON THE COVER... Pompejus Tower by RO&AD Architecten is a structure built from modified timber and steel in Halsteren, the Netherlands, and designed to lean at a sharp 60 degree angle, pointing towards a historic fort.


For the full report, go to page 18 Cover image © Katja Effting


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ADF AUGUST 2018


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