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The wood laboratory aims to expand the footprint of mass timber construction , using advanced engineered wood products on the continent , in collaboration between civil and chemical engineering , architecture , materials science , data science , genetics and other related bio-economy disciplines .
According to Professor Wynand Steyn , Head of the Department of Civil Engineering at UP , there is a long research relationship between York Timbers and the University of Pretoria . “ In the past , this relationship was focused specifically on tree science , with the main goal being how to grow better timber . However , the historic partnership was between York Timbers and the UP ’ s Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute ( FABI ). Discussions about incorporating the timber unit as part of the engineering facility only started in 2019 . We had a timber section in the engineering department for many years , but that unit was focused on general timber structures . There was no direct link between FABI and the engineering department , and no consistent and meaningful research that connected plant science and engineering ,” says Prof Steyn .
There are a lot of perceptions about timber that need to change if timber is to become an accepted building material in South Africa .
However , in 2019 , York Timbers indicated that they would like to regenerate the use of engineered structural timber in the country . “ We started those discussions in early 2019 and eventually established the York Timbers Structural Engineering Laboratory . Part of the talks and Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU ) were around incorporating a research chair in structural engineered timber specifically looking at those aspects of timber , and very importantly , supporting a number of research project linking all these aspects ,” adds Prof Steyn .
According to Prof Steyn , there are a lot of perceptions about timber that need to change if timber is to become an accepted building material in South Africa . “ Timber is not part of the South African culture . We do not have high-quality timber buildings and that is part of the problem . Showing South Africans through practical examples of what is possible , will go a long way in creating demand for timber houses ,” says Prof Steyn .
According to Schalk Grobbelaar , senior lecturer at UP ’ s Department of Engineering and Technology Management , and previously employed with York Timbers , the market cannot be developed without production capacity , but there can also not be any production if there is no market . “ This remains the major constraint for the timber industry in South Africa and it is one of the aspects that the University Chair will look at in its future research ,” Grobbelaar tells Timber iQ .
www . timberiq . co . za // APRIL / MAY 2021 19