Engineered wood can be made into mass timber structures that can be layered and compressed together to form super-strong wooden structures that reduce carbon emissions while supporting sustainable forest practices. Engineered wood offers both economic benefits as well as environmental sustainability advantages for use in mass timber structures.
Cost-Effective
Wood has a lower carbon footprint than steel or concrete structures, both of which require extensive amounts of energy for production and assembly. Furthermore, its reduced waste management costs make it particularly suitable for densely-populated cities.
Wood can help us reach net-zero emissions in building by replacing carbon-intensive materials like steel and concrete with sustainable forest management practices that encourage reforestation, lower wildfire risk and provide habitat for wildlife. Furthermore, use of wood helps keep carbon out of the atmosphere for the lifecycle of any structure--or longer if reused or recycled after its service life has ended.
architects and builders are buzzing with excitement over a groundbreaking material called mass timber that could significantly cut carbon emissions in built environments while cutting construction waste and costs, all while creating more healthy workplace environments for workers and creating beautiful work spaces that promote health and happiness. Engineered wood products make up this material.
Mass timber is constructed out of stacked and glued lumber, commonly cross-laminated or glued veneer lumber (LVL). This form of lumber can be easily formed into columns, walls and roofs for use as structural members in place of concrete or steel beams - substantially reducing construction time and labor costs! Prefabricated in factories before shipping directly to sites for assembly reduces construction times significantly as well as assembly labor costs dramatically.
But the prospects are strong for this new material, which looks set to make an impactful debut in Europe and Canada. It will reduce reliance on concrete and steel construction materials which emit greenhouse gasses during fabrication and installation processes, foster better-performing buildings, boost local economies by creating jobs in rural communities - plus it is renewable resource!
Environmentally Friendly
Timber stands out as an eco-friendly material in an otherwise concrete and steel world, boasting lower embodied energy consumption and carbon emission rates than concrete or steel buildings. Not only are wood buildings emitting less greenhouse gases over their lifetimes; trees used to construct them capture carbon from the air as they grow, and keep it stored away until death comes calling - keeping its emissions out of our atmosphere forever!
Building with mass timber reduces the amount of cement and steel necessary for construction, requires less shipping costs, and has an easier installation process. Furthermore, mass timber beams and panels are more durable than their counterparts and require fewer chemicals to maintain their integrity, thus eliminating VOC releases that contribute to poor indoor air quality.
Skyscrapers built using new timber construction systems can now be constructed more quickly and with significantly less environmental impact, an exciting development as cities grow and demand for housing rises.
Mass timber usage is also eco-friendly as it creates demand for sustainably harvested and managed forests, helping reduce wildfire risks while supporting land management practices which improve biodiversity. The Pacific Northwest region stands as an excellent showcase of these benefits as the region is filled with forests and sawmills eager to embrace new technologies like CLT construction.
Northlake Commons project, for instance, is an impressive timber building that will transform commercial office space and drive economic growth in Seattle. Situated on Dunn Lumber's former lumber yard site in North Seattle, its design honors Seattle's rich timber history while simultaneously showing sustainable workplace solutions of tomorrow.
Energy Efficient
Wood is known for having one of the lowest carbon footprints among building materials, enabling it to contribute towards net zero buildings. Not only is it non-toxic and easily available from sustainable and ethical sources, it is also structurally robust. As an energy-saving renewable resource it requires far less energy for production or transport than concrete or steel construction materials and also acts as a thermal mass, helping regulate temperature inside buildings for improved comfort and energy efficiency.
Structural timber is an ideal material choice for B2B office and commercial buildings as it boasts excellent fire resistance, is easily recyclable, lighter than other materials, supports less support within buildings and creates more space - not to mention helping lower carbon emissions by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere within its structures.
Cross or nail laminated (CLT), an eco-friendly construction technique using mass timber, has gained momentum as an affordable green alternative to concrete and steel structures. CLT involves joining pieces of timber together using glue or nails; Daytrip's Black White Building in Denver features CLT in its walls, roof, soffits and tilted wood shading fins to improve ventilation, natural light control and temperature regulation - and was constructed in just 14 weeks! This building stands as proof that CLT structures offer considerable advantages compared to concrete and steel structures of comparable magnitude.
To further reduce its carbon footprint, timber for building must come from forests which employ best practices in forest management. These practices ensure that trees are replaced by new ones to keep the cycle of planting and harvesting ongoing. Furthermore, timber buildings are carbon negative; sequestering carbon into their structures and then exhaling it back out from the atmosphere over the lifespan of a building - according to research report by Wood for Good, one five-story timber building alone could remove over 3,800 tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to taking more than 600 cars off the road annually!
Biophilic
Integrating natural elements into building design has been proven to reduce stress levels, boost productivity and self-reported well-being and contribute to greater workplace satisfaction. Timber adds an earthy quality that complements modern office settings perfectly. TOG, an award-winning workspace design specialist has teamed up with specialist timber construction company Waugh Thistleton in London's Shoreditch to construct a seven-story mass timber building designed with "architecture of sufficiency", with each component serving a purpose; no extraneous materials were included - everything must serve a specific function rather than extraneous features being unnecessary.
Timber helps lower a building's carbon impact by lowering its embodied emissions - this refers to how much carbon was released during its creation and assembly - with one of the lowest emission rates among all materials, making it an excellent choice for environmentally conscious office and commercial properties.
Wood can help reduce carbon emissions up to 2,000 tonnes when substituted for concrete and steel as raw materials used in building construction.
Utilizing wood in buildings can also help restore the carbon cycle by creating demand for sustainably managed forests, inducing forest owners to manage their land more sustainably and holistically, such as through thinning efforts or other forms of landscape restoration efforts.
Timber can help reduce energy costs by increasing thermal efficiency of buildings. Studies have revealed that timber-framed buildings are up to 30 per cent more energy-efficient than their steel and concrete counterparts due to their greater flexibility and adaptability, which allows more air flow and temperature regulation.
Recyclable
B2B office buildings may seem to be all concrete or steel structures, but that doesn't have to be the case. Green building materials like cross-laminated timber, reclaimed wood, mycelium or even mycorium can add stunning and sustainable elements that add an ultra-modern design aesthetic.
The Black White Building in Shoreditch, London - constructed of mass timber by workspace provider TOG and timber specialists Waugh Thistleton - showcases an innovative new approach to workplace sustainability with its design being an exercise in "architecture of sufficiency", where each element serves its own purpose while nothing extraneous exists.
Construction using softwood timber - typically spruce or pine - connected by nails or glue provides another means of prefabricated construction that drastically cuts time and labor costs, especially in tight urban spaces where traditional methods might not be feasible. Prefabricated Glulam log house Everbark can also be manufactured in factories before being shipped directly to sites for just-in-time installation, offering timesaving convenience. Prefabricated pieces also make an ideal solution for spaces without much room for traditional
