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Timber is the only renewable building material. It is strong and light, making it easy to transport and erect. It can also be machined to very high tolerances, making it ideal for prefabrication. 

New wood products such as CLT (cross laminated timber), and recent advances in computer-controlled manufacturing, now make it an attractive choice for office construction.

If acoustics, floor vibration and fire safety are addressed early in the design process, wood can be left exposed – saving on the cost of finishes and adding to the beauty of the interior. This is where our multidisciplinary approach can offer real cost savings. We believe that wood can create office buildings that are attractive, sustainable and affordable.

Why use timber?

These benefits of timber make it an ideal construction material. Engineered woods such as CLT and glulam have huge potential – something our designers and engineers are exploring through projects such as the LifeCycle Tower. Built using our concept design, the tower is part of a research project to develop a hybrid timber system for sustainable high-rise construction.

Projects like the LifeCycle Tower and the Believe in Better Building take advantage of timber’s multiple benefits.

  • Timber is the only 100% renewable building material 
  • Timber locks up carbon for the life of the building 
  • Because it’s a cellular material like bone, wood is strong and light 
  • This lightweight cellular structure also makes wood a natural insulator 
  • Easy to prefabricate and transport, timber makes for quick construction 
  • Timber is attractive and can be left exposed, reducing the cost of finishes 

The composite wood and concrete floors provide the same strength and performance as a standard floor but weigh 50% less.

Andrew Lawrence

Director, Arup

A sustainable material

Employed as part of a multidisciplinary engineering approach, timber is one of the most sustainable construction materials.

Sustainably grown wood from North American and European forests could easily provide enough timber to build thousands more projects like the buildings we’ve already helped bring to life.

Believe in Better

For Sky’s Believe in Better Building we used a glulam (glue laminated) timber frame with CLT slabs. The first 4-storey open-plan timber office in the UK, it was delivered in under a year because building with wood is so quick.

Following the success of the Believe in Better Building, we’ve already designed two more projects for Sky: BSKYB, Health and Fitness Centre, and a timber roof over a multipurpose office and studio that uses 12km of glulam beams.