Mass Timber: The Next Great Disruption Of Construction, Wood Products Industries
So Waugh’s East London architectural firm started studying mass timber, knowing it was the truly renewable building material – albeit largely unknown and untested in large-scale developments. “We were entranced by the opportunities this new material could provide,” he said.
It took five years for Waugh Thistleton Architects to hone their ideas – “so we could talk about the economic benefits of this kind of building” – and to bring that vision to reality in the world’s first mass timber tower, Murray Grove. The nine-story apartment complex in London’s Hackney borough was made from cross-laminated timber manufactured by KLH, an Austrian company.
Spruce strips were stacked crosswise three layers thick and glued together, producing horizontal beams and vertical structural wall boards that were harder than steel or concrete, with none of the associated carbon loss. The economic savings came at the construction site. Murray Grove was built in 27 days by four men, without a tower crane.
Using wood saved 1,150 tons of carbon dioxide from going into the atmosphere – the equivalent of running a wind turbine on top of the building for 210 years. And 29 families moved into new homes in a country with an overwhelming housing shortage.
From Treesource: treesource.org.
Latest News
Huber Takes Another Swing
Huber Engineered Woods appears to be looking at building its sixth OSB plant in Shuqualak, Miss. in Noxubee County. In March, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Dept. of Environmental Quality released a joint public notice for Huber’s application for a permit pursuant to the Clean Water Act, and in May MDEQ released a Large Construction Notice of Intent under the Large Construction General Permit applied for by Huber at Shuqualak…
48 Years Of Westmill & Still Going Strong
Established in 1975, Victor Crondahl started Westmill Industries supplying parts and equipment to the Canadian plywood manufacturing industry. Now, nearly five decades later Westmill continues to grow under its current owner, Mike Crondahl, son of the founder. Westmill has become a world leader in the design and manufacture of veneer drying equipment and technologies. Twenty-five years after Westmill installed the plywood…
Georgia-Pacific Camden Plywood Invests $18 Million
It was in the late 1800s when the small community of Camden, Tex., welcomed its first forest products mill. What began as the W.T. Carter Lumber Co. is today one of Georgia-Pacific’s largest plywood operations. To ensure its longevity for years to come, Georgia-Pacific is embarking on a $18 million upgrade that will modernize the plant and help increase efficiency…
Roseburg Makes Major Decision
Roseburg Forest Products, which announced in April a $700 million investment over the next four years to expand operations in southern Oregon, including a $450 million MDF plant in Dillard, Ore., has selected Siempelkamp as the primary supplier of the MDF plant, including a 10 ft. x 42.1 m ContiRoll continuous press. The companies noted that in 1969 Siempelkamp supplied Roseburg Lumber with its very first composite panel press line…
APA Board Adds Beers As Trustee
APA, The Engineered Wood Assn. Board of Trustees has added John Beers III as its newest member. He joins the APA Board of Trustees, filling the position vacated by Andy Konieczka’s resignation and move to a new role within Georgia-Pacific. Beers currently serves as the president of the structural panels business at Georgia-Pacific…
Find Us On Social
Newsletter
The monthly Panel World Industry Newsletter reaches over 3,000 who represent primary panel production operations.
Subscribe/Renew
Panel World is delivered six times per year to North American and international professionals, who represent primary panel production operations. Subscriptions are FREE to qualified individuals.
Advertise
Complete the online form so we can direct you to the appropriate Sales Representative. Contact us today!