Recent Developments in Timber Design & Its Impact on Carbon Emissions

Abstract

This paper explores recent developments in timber building designs and its potential towards reducing carbon emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions are a growing issue worldwide as urbanization and industrialization continues to increase. The rising concentration of carbon dioxide emissions pose significant concerns towards public welfare and environmental health. Despite current methods to reduce greenhouse gasses, carbon emissions remain difficult to reduce from steel and concrete industries. Increasing timber use in building design is a possible solution. Increasing more timber in building design can help reduce carbon emissions due to the carbon-absorbing properties of the construction material. Timber as a construction material plays a significant role in modern buildings with a focus towards sustainable design. In this review, a systematic approach was used to find literature that could be analyzed to find which timber building designs would be feasible in mitigating carbon dioxide emissions. It was concluded that both timber and timber-hybrid buildings are effective at reducing carbon emissions. Timber-hybrid buildings are a potential application towards increasing timber in building designs in a way that doesn’t compromise their structural integrity. The most favorable building design that balanced sustainability and structural integrity was the timber-steel building design. However, more studies are needed to further investigate the connection assemblies of timber buildings, as well as implementation of forest management practices to prevent overharvesting of timber. With further development, there can be a balance between technological advancements and environmental welfare.