Back     Latest news from Green Building Press    Subscribe to our newsletter

See the latest in timber structures

Posted: 15/09/2008

An exhibition running in Bristol until the beginning of November showcases a selection of cutting edge timber structures. Following on from last year’s successful Inspiring Futures exhibition on wooden buildings, The Architecture Centre is presenting a second exhibition from The Centre for Contemporary Art and the Natural World.

Timber Talent shows sixteen of the most innovative examples of the use of timber in contemporary UK architecture, all of which are located, or designed in the South West.

Buildings include community spaces, housing projects, workplaces and structures in the landscape, such as sixixis’ ground-breaking ‘Rolling Summer House’, the Eden Project’s ‘Core’ and the award-winning ‘Dairy House’ in Somerset.

The Dairy House by architect Charlotte Skene Catling, is a conversion of a disused dairy in Somerset into a five bedroom house. She says her aim "was to use as many local materials as possible. Estate timber is planked and dried in the storage barns in the farmyard opposite the site, and the method of drying – where raw planks are separated by spacers to allow air circulation - became the generator of the logic and aesthetic of the extension."

Built of a 'sandwich' of alternating layers of planks and thick sheets of glass, the walls transmit light - "The oak retains the waney edge on the outside; the inside is finely sanded. Similarly, the blocks of laminated glass are left rough on the exterior, and are polished on the interior. The structure was built up of the prefabricated pieces on site. The glass blocks sit on rubber gaskets which in turn sit directly on the timber".

"A foam seal sits on the surface of the blocks to form a weatherproof movement joint, clear silicon forms a final weather seal. Pilkington donated the glass for the extension as this technique has not been used before, and the project would have been unaffordable without this." (A similar effect can be achieved more cheaply by using logs, clay and old bottles)

Wood can be a sustainable and environmentally friendly choice of material, and the Centre say 'at a time when climate change and energy resources are high on the agenda, it is encouraging to see architectural practices in the South West taking these matters in hand and producing a range of intelligent and considered timber structures.

Timber Talent South West provides an insight into the exciting, green possibilities for the use of timber in contemporary architectural design. The projects are documented by photographs, early sketches, timber samples and models.

The Architecture Centre can be found at Narrow Quay, Bristol BS1 4QA
0117 922 1540 visit www.architecturecentre.co.uk for opening times.

Green Building Press  
 

Back     Latest news from Green Building Press    Subscribe to our newsletter

2635