30 | Sector Focus: Timber in Construction
SUMMARY
■ Prof Robert Hairstans is CATT’s founding director
■ CATT has a memorandum of understanding with Edinburgh Napier University
■ The building is set for completion in June 2022
■ The hybrid structure will feature glulam, CLT and panelised timber system infills
CATT ADVANCES
Groundworks for the new Centre for Advanced Timber Technology have started, with the first student intake set for September next year. Sally Spencer reports
There are few, if any, construction projects that haven’t been affected by the Covid pandemic and the new Centre for Advanced Timber Technology (CATT), which is part of the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering’s (NMITE) Skylon campus, is no exception.
The original completion date of March 2021 has long gone and, since being featured in TTJ last year (TTJ September/October 2020), the design has completely changed and new building partners are on board. CATT also has a new man at the helm – Professor Robert Hairstans was appointed founding director earlier this year, on secondment from Edinburgh Napier University (ENU), with which CATT now has a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) (TTJ May/June 2021). Perhaps the biggest change is that CATT will now share the building with another of NMITE’s planned learning spaces, the Centre for Automated Manufacturing (CAM). “Covid was a big part of the delay,” said Prof Hairstans. “In addition, we received extra funding to accelerate building the CAM and this fed in to the decision to change the design to the combined CATT/ CAM building. This, therefore, required new planning consent.”
Planning permission was granted on March 15 this year and groundworks at the Skylon campus on the Herefordshire Enterprise Zone are just under way. The target completion date is June 2022, with the first student intake of CATT learners scheduled for September that year.
Above: Prof Robert Hairstans was appointed founding director of CATT earlier this year
TTJ | July/August 2021 |
www.ttjonline.com
The main contractor is the same as announced last year – Speller Metcalfe – but the architect is now Bond Bryant (the previous design was by Oakwrights) and
the specialist structural delivery partner is Hybrid Structures. The 2,500m2
building will include five 100m2 studios, 220m2 spaces at the front and two 700m2
of breakout and event workshops
to the rear to host CATT and CAM as well as other amenities, such as a café, a lobby and a dedicated quiet space.
The building will still showcase advanced timber technologies, with Hybrid Structures sourcing glulam from Hasslacher, cross- laminated timber (CLT) from Stora Enso and timber panelised infill systems from Welshpool-based PYC. However, in another change to the original design concept, these timber elements will be incorporated into a hybrid structure – the workshop space is to be steel frame with panelised timber system infills. The decision to go hybrid was purely pragmatic, explained Prof Hairstans. “Given the delays caused by Covid there is now quite a tight schedule to get things delivered on time and on budget and the procurement processes and design approaches resolved to this being the most efficient and cost-effective way of delivering this building,” he said.
For some timber purists, this might be disappointing but because the centre will perform a ‘living lab’ function, there is a very positive spin.
“What we want to learn from this process is how we can overcome some of the challenges and barriers to timber uptake,” said Prof Hairstans. “There are real pressures in terms of procurement – for example, Hybrid Structures had to pre-book the glulam and CLT many weeks ago to ensure it would meet the given time frame.
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