Abstract
Prefabricated engineered solid wood panel construction systems can sequester and store CO2. Modular cross-laminated timber (CLT, also called cross-lam) panels form the basis of low-carbon, engineered construction systems using solid wood panels that can be used to build residential infill developments of 10 storeys or higher. Multi-apartment buildings of 4 to 10 storeys constructed entirely in timber, such as recently in Europe, are innovative, but their social and cultural acceptance in Australia and North America is at this stage still uncertain. Future commercial utilisation is only possible if there is a user acceptance. The author is part of a research team that aims to study two problems: first models of urban infill; then focus on how the use of the CLT systems can play an important role in facilitating a more livable city with better models of infill housing. Wood is an important contemporary building resource due to its low embodied energy and unique attributes. The potential of prefabricated engineered solid wood panel systems, such as CLT, as a sustainable building material and system is only just being realised around the globe. Since timber is one of the few materials that has the capacity to store carbon in large quantities over a long period of time, solid wood panel construction offers the opportunity of carbon engineering, to turn buildings into ‘carbon sinks’. Thus some of the historically negative environmental impact of urban development and construction can be turned around with CLT construction on brownfield sites.
Highlights
Introduction and Problem DefinitionScientists are increasingly able to present empirical evidence about the environmental impact of global warming, including rising temperatures, soil erosion, and deforestation, falling water tables, ice melting, loss of biodiversity and animal habitat, threats to food security and the questionable use of grain to produce fuel for cars
Timber buildings require less primary energy consumption (‘primary energy’ is the energy form that has not been subjected to any transformation process; it is energy contained in raw fuels and other forms of energy received as input to a system; it can be non-renewable or renewable) and have a lower Global Warming Potential (GWP) than concrete or steel buildings
The developer is Lend Lease, and its Australian CEO, Mark Menhinnitt, anticipates that ‘in future 30 to 50 per cent of their residential projects in the pipeline could be executed in cross-laminated timber (CLT)’; he noted ‘this project will unlock a new era for sustainable development by offering a viable alternative to traditional construction options, which are carbon intensive’ [62]
Summary
Scientists are increasingly able to present empirical evidence about the environmental impact of global warming, including rising temperatures, soil erosion, and deforestation, falling water tables, ice melting, loss of biodiversity and animal habitat, threats to food security and the questionable use of grain to produce fuel for cars. Bold changes are needed to reduce carbon emissions; global warming forces us to rethink the way we deal with population growth, urban development, carbon- and energy-intensive construction systems, linear and unsustainable material flows, consumption and urban life in general. Urban infill and developments on brownfield sites mean cities become denser, so that residents can live in proximity to public transport, mixed-use precincts and their workplaces; it involves people moving from suburbs back to city centres and accepting multi-storey apartment buildings and townhouses. Better models of infill housing are needed to ensure acceptance of inner-city living. Architects and planners are looking for new, responsible ways of living in cities and better inner-city housing models, to attract people back from suburbs to the centres. A report by FWPA (2012) [11] states that ‘the areas of design, material technology and construction process management in housing, have significant potential for improvement through emerging technologies, but to date, the Australian construction industry has been slow to adopt new technologies relative to other advanced countries’
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