Challenging the perceptions of modern timber construction

The recent ‘Urban Wood: An Alternative Architecture’ event challenged the perceptions of timber construction as an alternative to preferred materials such as concrete, steel and brick.

The collaborative project between Metsä Wood and London South Bank University (LSBU) was attended by more than 100 practitioners, as well as architecture students and professors, and marked the launch of an innovative design project between Metsä Wood and the students at LSBU.

Metsä Wood has challenged the LSBU students to identify how timber could be used to restore old or iconic buildings in London. 

The project is designed to challenge the perceptions of modern engineered timber, so that it is seen as a cost effective, flexible and environmentally friendly alternative building material for everything from structures to exteriors.

Students will present their design ideas in June, with Metsä Wood awarding a prize for the winning concept.

An alternative architecture

The Urban Wood seminar began with a brief introduction from Metsä Wood’s Head of Technical Engineering and Design, Frank Werling. The seminar demonstrated some of the types of modern engineered timber materials available, including the KERTO Laminated Venner Lumbar (LVL) range, I-BEAM Joists and Glulam beams.

Werling also discussed Metsä Wood’s Plan B project, which is re-imagining famous architectural designs such as the Empire State Building, Reichstag and the Coliseum using modern engineered timber.

Guest speakers included Jon Broome (Jon Broome Architects), Andrew Waugh (Waugh Thistleton) and Professor Alex de Rijke (dRMM Architects); who presented how engineered wood is being used in some of their most innovative projects and how the material is becoming more widely adopted in modern day construction.

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