Designing Timber

  • Home
  • Designing Timber
Street scene showing the corner of the Technique Building, where the lower front building meets the higher back.
Moving on up: timber takes Technique Building to new heights
by Matt Milton|14 July 23|Design
How did mass timber add extra floors - and a whole lot of flair - to the Technique Building? We catch up with Andy Heyne, of structural engineers Heyne Tillett Steel, to find out all the details. The building at 132 Goswell Road has been many things. Once it was...
continue reading
A Passivhaus haven of timber tranquility
by Matt Milton|29 June 23|Build, Design
A timber-framed Passivhaus in Warwickshire, Larch Corner boasts some truly impressive credentials. Mark Siddall, of architecture practice LEAP, took on a challenging project and delivered an extraordinarily efficient building. It is 195 times more airtight than 2023 UK building regulations require. It is also a haven of timber-based tranquillity –...
continue reading
Regreening an unloved site
by Bryony Bodimeade|01 May 23|Design
Hayhurst & Co have created a verdant, light-filled CLT home that uses space to maximal effect. Commissioned by the clients to design a fun and exciting home for their young family, London-based architects Hayhurst & Co drew on the greenery and natural history of the site to create a re-imagined,...
continue reading
Water Tower from Tonkin Liu_Interior-Tank_Dennis-Pedersen
A water tower with a heart of wood
by Bryony Bodimeade|28 April 23|Design
In this reuse project by Tonkin Liu, a dilapidated water tower is transformed into an enchanting home by stabilizing the delicate steel frame with a strong timber core. Image © Dennis Pedersen: the renovated tower stands proudly overlooking the fields. The steel-framed water tower, which had originally been used on...
continue reading
Designing Timber
Designing Timber | Issue 03
by Liam Macandrew|26 April 23|Build, Design
Third edition of Designing Timber, a magazine from Timber Development UK (TDUK) dedicated to architects, designers and anyone working with timber. If last month's Futurebuild conference is anything to go by, the world is waking up to the fact that timber really is the future of construction; This and more...
continue reading
Woodlands Nursery by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Helping clients on their net zero journey – a profile of FCBStudios
by Matt Milton|20 April 23|Design
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios explain how close-knit collaboration, natural materials and carbon counting leads to truly sustainable buildings - and very happy clients. The fact that you’re reading this means you're probably already a timber and sustainable building advocate. You know how important it is to reduce the embodied carbon...
continue reading
Accoya fenders
Can Accoya wood survive 2 years in the Thames?
by Bryony Bodimeade|17 April 23|Build, Design
The moment of truth: stripping backthe surface moss and slime to revealwell-preserved Accoya wood Spoiler alert: yes it can. Accoya is timber that has been modified by a process called ‘acetylation’, which increases its durability, allowing it to resist rot and defy the elements. In 2020, the Environment Agency tested...
continue reading
Recycled Glulam
Can old timber be reincarnated…as glulam?
by Bryony Bodimeade|04 April 23|Build, Design
We all know that timber is a sustainable, biodegradable material. And we’ve all heard of things being made from reclaimed wood. But can we go further still? Could timber from old buildings have a second life – transformed into a structural timber product and reused? Simple Works are London-based structural...
continue reading
The ‘boltless boathouse’ that’s up for an RIBA award
by Matt Milton|03 April 23|Design
This timber-frame boathouse uses no mechanical fixings in its structure. The boathouse, designed by Ashworth Parkes Architects, was inspired by traditional Japanese temples and ceremonial buildings. The pagoda-style curved roof is one of several Japanese influences in this elegant small project. TDUK members Carpenter Oak crafted the frame for this...
continue reading
Pells Garden rain garden (Human Nature with Periscope)
The UK’S biggest timber development ever?
by Matt Milton|03 April 23|Design
The recently announced Phoenix Development in Lewes looks set to be the largest timber development the UK has ever seen. It is currently awaiting planning permission but, fingers crossed, it will provide 700 sustainably sourced timberframe homes. The developers, Human Nature, hope to kick-start a whole new revival in sustainable...
continue reading