54 | Feature: The Black & White Building
Below: The Black & White Building has outstanding carbon credentials and is one of London’s greenest and cleanest commercial office spaces
keen to be involved with the scheme when first approached by TOG. James Latham became one of the scheme’s partners, donating a wide array of timber for the participants to use, including super prime American black walnut, American white ash, American red oak, American white oak, American cherry, maple, beech, birch ply, and Flexiply. The resulting pieces of furniture included a bench, a rocking horse, and a side table. “We have a proud history of supporting industry talent and the Makers & Mentors project presented a fantastic opportunity to be involved in a scheme that will inspire and motivate the next generation of furniture designers,” said James Latham’s group head of marketing, Stuart Devoil. “Furthermore, it presents a hands-on chance to demonstrate the creative and functional potential of wood, and why it remains the go-to material category for furniture, cabinetry, and joinery purposes. The results are seriously impressive and serve as an indicator of exciting things to come in the UK design community.”
◄ rapidly renewable, highly durable, easily recyclable, and less waste-generating than concrete and other conventional construction materials. This applies in both manufacture and logistics – as well as generating less greenhouse gas emissions in production, CLT and LVL are lighter and easier to transport than concrete and steel, requiring fewer site deliveries and therefore saving both on carbon and traffic disruption to the busy urban setting.
Used throughout the building, the CLT frame and LVL columns and beams were engineered to be slotted together, which means that, not only did the structure require a smaller workforce to assemble, but it can also be easily disassembled, piece by piece. This means that, at the end of the building’s life, its constituent materials can be recovered and reused in other products, embracing the principles of the circular economy.
SUSTAINABILITY AT ITS HEART James Latham is among a number of suppliers who have directly contributed to The Black & White Building’s outstanding carbon credentials, which position it as one of London’s greenest and cleanest commercial office spaces.
Overall, The Black & White Building generates 37% less embodied carbon than an equivalent concrete scheme, saving a staggering amount of CO2
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Furthermore, 55% of the building’s embodied carbon is sequestered within the timber structure. As WTA’s Andrew Waugh, the lead architect on the project puts it: “It is a massively carbon-saving building that comes way below the targets set out by the London Energy Transformation Initiative (LETI).”
TTJ | January/February 2023 |
www.ttjonline.com
SUPPORTING THE NEXT GENERATION TOG’s ongoing commitment to social responsibility and supporting the community also encompassed the launch of a special charitable scheme to complement the wider activity of The Black & White Building project: ‘Makers & Mentors’.
The initiative saw TOG team up with social enterprise POoR (Power Out of Restriction) Collective to launch a scheme to help design students bolster their expertise before heading into the industry. Under the expert guidance of three established designers (Sebastian Cox, Matteo Fogale, and Andu Masebo) the programme saw a select trio of students each develop a piece of furniture, accessory, or artwork that referenced the sustainable design principles that underpin The Black & White Building.
Dedicated to supporting the timber industry as well as its audience, James Latham was
REACHING HIGHER GROUND Ultimately, The Black & White Building represents a seminal moment in timber design and construction, perfectly exhibiting what gives this material such timeless appeal. This is further emphasised by the site’s longstanding association with timber, which has seen James Latham, its original occupant, return to play a part in its new incarnation as an ultra-stylish workspace.
TOG’s co-founder Charlie Green sums it up: “The Black & White Building represents a major step forward for us and, I hope, the wider industry too. It’s a statement of who we are and how we will approach sustainability; this project proves mass timber is suitable – even preferable – for large-scale commercial properties. We don’t need to build the traditional way with concrete and steel anymore.” ■
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