Reducing carbon footprint
In general, there are three construction approaches for timber buildings. The first method is prefabricated modules, which is suitable for multistorey housing between 2 and 6 stories. This method has been used for Rullestenen, near Roskilde in Denmark, and is advantageous in speed and quality. Rullestenen’s carbon footprint is 50 % lower than the mandatory LCA requirement stipulated by the Danish Building Regulations .

The second method is mass timber buildings using timber columns, beams, and floor decks, which can create large, open-plan spaces and are well-suited to administration, school, and university buildings between 4 and 10 storeys.

“Large-scale timber buildings require a different design approach compared to traditional solutions. There is a need to have a greater focus on span and grid size to optimize the structural solution and minimize the amount of timber used. Optimising and reducing the amount of timber used benefits both the construction costs and environmental impact.”, says Rob Marsh.

This is demonstrated in the WoodHub project in Denmark. The new office hub in Odense will gather 1,600 public employees in a sustainable, modern, and optimal multiuser building that fits carefully into its surroundings. With its 31,000 m2 of solid timber constructions, the project is a flagship project in sustainable office buildings in Denmark. WoodHub has a carbon footprint that is 30 % lower than the mandatory LCA requirement stipulated by the Danish Building Regulations.

Healthy construction environment
Apart from the overall climate-friendly value of using timber as a construction material, there are more benefits.

“It is fast to work with. It can increase construction speed by up to 20 %, since there is a high level of prefabrication, and the construction elements are much lighter. There is also no need for drying out the buildings before the internal fitting out starts.

There are also interesting results from Norway, showing greater health and safety performance on timber construction sites, where the workers' sick leave can be reduced by 50%. The trade unions representing construction workers should be demanding more timber on building sites to improve their members’ working conditions.” says Rob Marsh.