The holiday and sailing resort of Dartmouth in Devon was chosen by Sainsbury’s as their first new site to trial ‘green building’ in earnest across all aspects of the store’s design and operation. In locations like this, the regular custom from locals is significantly supplemented by holiday makers during the summer, who appreciate a more relaxed shopping environment.

Because the store is set into a hill it was decided to create a dominant curved roof feature to reflect the immediate topography as well as contribute towards a relaxed feel to the building. Using glued laminated timber (glulam) as the primary structural material is attractive to large retailers for the following reasons: “It is good to have a viable alternative should steel become unaffordable in the future.”

The price of structural steel components has risen by as much as 50% in the last 2 years, mainly due to the rising cost of energy, whilst the corresponding increases in timber have been much less.

“Customers greatly appreciate the positive contribution that visible timber construction elements make in terms of a warmer and more relaxed environment.”

Timber has a vastly reduced impact on the environment, due to its carbon content (the carbon storage effect) and the lower energy required to produce, process and transport the material. In fire, timber members char on faces exposed to fire but still retain strength and stiffness by virtue of the much cooler core within the charred surfaces and thus their performance is predictable and collapse is unlikely.