66 STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS
assembled onsite. This has the advantage of speed, strict quality control methods, ensuring the correct specification of materials are used and a high degree of dimensional accuracy that you wouldn’t get with traditional building methods. Timber also allows for futureproofing. A
timber construction’s total lifespan can be extended to suit the flexible way we will be living in the future.
FIRE SAFETY A hot topic around the use of timber in construction is fire safety. If managed in the right way, however, timber can be considered no more of a risk than any other building material. As with any building material, safety is
become popularised in Scandinavia, Australia and America, and structural timber buildings are pushing boundaries in design, attaining heights and spans that would have previously required concrete, steel or masonry to achieve. Using timber as a new method of
construction is not only a modern way to build but it’s also an effective way to build. The advantage with the use of wood compared to concrete and steel is that it has the benefit of being able to be manufactured offsite – in a factory controlled environment – and being easily
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a priority, and all building materials are vulnerable to damage in the event of a fire and react in different ways. With timber however, we have the added knowledge to be able to predict its performance in the event of a fire as it has a slow charring rate. The function and properties of wood being flammable remains unchanged within the pyrolysis zone, and as such engineers are able to use this knowledge to their advantage when designing for fire safety. In response to concerns about fire
safety in structural timber buildings, we’ve also seen the Structural Timber Association step in and do their own
analysis, investing close to £750k in fire research, which had led to the confirma- tion of timber being a safe building system when built correctly. Modern international research into the
development and risk of fire has helped change the approach to fire safety in buildings. Reported from Swedish Wood, we’ve seen cross laminated timber (CLT) being heavily used in Swedish construction. CLT is a smart environmen- tal choice as it’s made from renewable raw material and manufactured in a low- energy process. Products also have a high resistance to fire, improving safety in timber buildings.
RESURGENCE Timber is currently undergoing a resur- gence in use within construction, it has been shown to be a renewable building material with great benefits in terms of effectiveness, flexibility and design. Timber is also an environmentally
smart choice that lends itself to safe building designs, expanding methods of modern construction. Because of this, timber use within
construction will undoubtedly continue to grow as more companies become aware of its great benefits.
Scott McAndrew is engineer and research and development manager at ITW
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