Kirsten Haggart: Building with timber has reached a ‘tipping point’

Episode 60. AJ Climate Champions with Hattie Hartman and Joe Jack Williams. 

In this episode, we take a deep dive into building with timber. Haggart shares numerous tips for practices just getting started. Early engagement with the supply chain and getting the right engineer are essential. Efficient use of timber is essential, as is designing for longevity and adaptability by getting column grids right and incorporating ‘soft spots’ where connections between floors can be introduced at a later date. Managing moisture by designing out wet trades is just as critical as fire risk.

Haggart also explains how engineered timber structures can be designed for circularity. She sees a future of more manufacturer take-back schemes, rather than the current fledgling approach of one-to-one reuse between a host building and a donor building.  

Waugh Thistleton's Black & White Building recently won global recognition as a winner of the Built by Nature prize, recognised particularly for its efficient use of timber in both structure and facade and an informative LCA report which sets out the metrics behind the building in an engaging and accessible manner that others can learn from.

Current projects in the pipeline include a twin office building for Lendlease on the Milan Expo site, a stone clad office tower in Maidenhead and collaboration with community housing practice We Can Make in Bristol.

For show notes and to catch up on all AJ Climate Champions episodes, click here.

Supported by Built by Nature