Tulipwood CLT is one of the most sustainable timber species.
PROJECTS
IMAGE: JASMINE SOHI
The elevated building sits on top of four metre steel legs above a sloping garden.
speed of construction and sustainability. American tulipwood is about 70 % stronger to bend than a typical CLT grade softwood. The structural CLT panels for Maggie’ s Oldham were developed by CLT specialists – Züblin Timber.
The first public experiment with this building material was The Endless Stair, created during the London Design Festival 2013. Arup’ s engineering calculations show the structure may support 100 people at any one time.
Tulipwood CLT is one of the most sustainable timber species due to how fast it replenishes, through natural growth alone. Maggie’ s Oldham contains 27.6m 3 of American tulipwood and 1.1m 3 of American ash, equivalent to around 55.22m 3 and 2.1m 3 respectively of sawn wood before processing, which in terms comes from about 115.7m 3 of logs – all these logs will be replaced in just 120 seconds( 108 seconds for the tulipwood and 12 seconds for the ash).
Co-founder of dRMM, Professor Alex de Rijke’ s experiments with engineered timber have progressed during 30 years in practice and academe. The studio’ s building and furniture projects have pushed the structural, environmental and aesthetic properties of engineered timber, from plywood to engineered softwood, and now to the collaborative invention of hardwood CLT.
“ From the Oldham project inception we knew it was the right material for Maggie’ s, not only structurally and visually, but conceptually. An elevated, open plan, alltimber and glass building – with trees growing through it,
Tulipwood CLT is one of the most sustainable timber species.
and every detail considered from the perspective of use, health and delight – was always going to be special,” says De Rijke.
“ Maggie’ s Oldham has a built-in, very visible holistic design message that supports the central aims of the design – to uplift and offer hope to people living with cancer. The applications for sustainably grown hardwood, particularly fast growing tulipwood CLT is endless. The environmental, structural and visual qualities are demonstrated explicitly at dRMM’ s Maggie’ s; a manifesto for wood as the natural choice for contemporary architecture of physical and psychological well-being.”
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The curved glass feature in the centre aims to bring nature inside the building. In addition, the main kitchen table around which centre visitors are encouraged to sit, is a design by Barnby Day that was commissioned by De Rijke and AHEC for the Wish List project for London Design Festival 2014. It is built by Benchmark Furniture from recycled tulipwood CLT. The top was left over from the Wish List and the base is made from off-cuts of CLT that came from the windows and doors of Maggie’ s Oldham.
26 DECEMBER 2017 / JANUARY 2018 //