Woodknowledge Wales

Woodknowledge Wales

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Projects

New pods to bring built environment learners good fabric performance skills

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University of Wales Trinity St David’s Construction Wales Innovation Centre welcomed delivery of two new building performance test pods designed specifically to provide hands-on learning around fabric-first building performance

On 14 December 2023, Julie Evans, Project Manager, Passivhaus Training forCarmarthenshire, announced the arrival of the new building performance test pods for the University of Wales Trinity St David’s Construction Wales Innovation Centre (CWIC) Welsh Timber and Building Performance Development Centre in Lampeter. The pods will be used in the delivery of the Not Business as Usual, Construct Net-Zero Cymru (CNZC) project to train industry, construction students in Further and Higher Education, and other community learners.

“The building performance test pods were built specifically to provide a hands-on experience. They will help built environment students and other learners to better understand what constitutes good fabric performance which is a critically important new skill needed to create low carbon buildings.” said Gary Newman, CEO, Woodknowledge Wales

Designed and constructed in collaboration with Woodknowledge Wales, Rob Thomas, Hiraeth Architecture and Kenton Jones (Designers and Makers), the building performance pods blend teaching, research, and innovation with carefull design and construction to deliver state-of-the-art, practical learning tools.

The pods were built by technical experts to reflect Passivhaus principles and the Welsh Building Regulations. Both pods will enable students to try their hand at Building Performance Evaluation (BPE) techniques such as air tightness, U-Value measurement, thermal performance and heat loss.

A key element in the Not Business as Usual, Construct Net-Zero Cymru (CNZC) project, each pod illustrates closed panel timber frame construction and will also be a useful tool to educate a wide range of audiences in terms of low-carbon, high performance construction using timber as a sustainable building material.

The Not Business As Usual CNZC project will focus on educating learners on the importance of building fabric. It will work to improve principles and techniques applied in the design, construction, and maintenance of a variety of low-carbon construction methods.

“CWIC and its partners are working alongside partners in industry, higher and further education, schools and the third sector to create and deliver micro courses in ‘Fabric First‘ design. Sessions will be held in the UWTSD’s construction workshop using a range of tailor-made equipment and training aids to enhance these skills,” said Julie Evans, Project Manager, Passivhaus Training for Carmarthenshire, Construction Wales Innovation Centre (CWIC)

Read CWIC’s press release: Arrival of new building performance test pods enhances practical learning

Read more about the Not Business as Usual, Construct Net-Zero Cymru (CNZC) project

Research project launches to increase traceability and transparency in mass timber supply chains

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Built by Nature, a network and grant-making fund with a mission to accelerate the timber and biobased building transformation, has awarded €330,000 to three projects from its first Challenge initiative. The “From Forest to Frame” Challenge was launched in November of 2022 with the goal to increase the transparency around the climate impacts of decisions made along the bio-based construction value chain.

IMPACTT – Innovative Mapping and Processes to Advance Construction Timber Transparency

One of these projects is IMPACTT – Innovative Mapping and Processes to Advance Construction Timber Transparency. ASBP is the project lead, with a team consisting of Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC UK), DoubleHelix Tracking Technologies, Agrodome in the Netherlands, Woodknowledge Wales, Stora Enso, and Eurban, with support from CEI-Bois and TDUK.

“Woodknowledge Wales is delighted to support this exciting project. We know from our work with construction professionals throughout the UK, that whilst the benefits of timber as a material are increasingly well understood, the role of the forest in providing that timber and the impact on critically important ecosystem services such as biodiversity, is generally poorly understood. This creates the space for negative counter narratives about trees and timber. This project will help to put biodiversity information alongside carbon data to help clients and specifiers in their decision making and impact reporting.” Gary Newman, CEO

Overlaying biodiversity and forest data onto the PEFC Certification system

The aim of IMPACTT is to investigate how we might overlay biodiversity data and forest data onto the PEFC Certification system.

“We aim to find six mass timber buildings from the UK and the Netherlands where we can trace back the mass timber elements to forests where there has been active biodiversity measurement, monitoring, and management. We want to bring the forest of origin much closer to the building and will investigate how a QR code situated on the building might bring this additional information about the forest to the building user,” said the ASBP press office.

PEFC is the world’s largest certification system for sustainable forest-based products, with over 280 million hectares of certified forests. The PEFC scheme undergoes regular revisions every seven years, with the last revision having been completed in 2020. For the next revision, PEFC are considering integrating carbon and biodiversity impacts into their programmes and so this project could have a significant impact on the implementation of these changes.

“PEFC UK is delighted to be part of the team for this project, the results of which could have a positive influence on the direction of future revisions of PEFC’s global standards. With forthcoming legislation in some regions requiring complete supply chain mapping, the timing and scope of the project should provide invaluable information on the solutions to achieve fully traceable, sustainable timber supply chains.” John Kirkby, Executive Director

Addressing information gaps in the mass timber supply chain

IMPACTT will also explore ways to address information gaps in the mass timber supply chain and enable better visualisation using digital supply chain mapping tools. This work will be led by DoubleHelix. In addition, we will conduct interviews with industry stakeholders to gauge their understanding of the fundamentals of sustainable forest management, with the aim of understanding where the learning gaps are and then suggest resources to fill those gaps.

DoubleHelix is excited to lead the digital supply chain mapping efforts for the IMPACTT project, paving the way for true transparency in timber sourcing. We believe that bridging the gap between the forest of origin and the end user will revolutionize how the public understand and value sustainable forest management.” Darren Thomas, CEO

Introducing IMPACTT at UK Construction Week

We are introducing IMPACTT at UK Construction Week in Birmingham NEC on 5th October at 14.10 in the Sustainability Hub, with speakers from ASBP, PEFC UK, DoubleHelix and Stora Enso. The ASBP team will be on stand T444 over the three days and we have convened two other talks: please see here for the details https://asbp.org.uk/upcomingevents

“As built environment professionals are getting to grips with carbon emissions to help mitigate the climate emergency, innovation’s focus shifts to the nature emergency and how the structures we are creating today impact biodiversity via their supply chains. Part of the global bioeconomy, Stora Enso are honoured to be collaborating with this project team to demystify the mass timber journey from seedling to building.” Dr Mila Duncheva, MCIOB, Business Development Manager of UK & Ireland

Further Forest to Frame Challenge projects

The other two projects funded under the Forest to Frame Challenge are led by UK based research and education consultancy EVOLVING FORESTS and W/E consultants in the Netherlands. Evolving Forests will produce a series of curated films and media content to enhance the understanding of different stakeholders’ roles within the timber value-chain, and to build their understanding of sustainable forestry. Stichting W/E adviseurs duurzaam bouwen (W/E Consultants) will work to generate better carbon accountability within the European cross-laminated timber value chain by proposing new and accurate calculation methods.

Biodiversity measurement is a fast evolving science and Biodiversity Net Gain’s (BNG) transitional arrangements were due to close in November 2023, with BNG delivery to become a mandatory requirement for the vast majority of housebuilders and developers on all developments in the UK. However, the government has just delayed putting this into effect. Mass timber has the potential to reduce the embodied impact of construction versus more conventional materials such as concrete and steel. It is strong and light, and as a natural material, has a strong aesthetic appeal. This work follows on from our Mass Timber Insurance Playbook, which is a free download from our website.

Homegrown Timber in UK Construction – Case Studies, Volume. 1

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The projects showcased here represent a snap-shot of what’s happening throughout the whole of the UK, but with an emphasis on projects in Wales – from housing to retail, simple homes and social housing to high end self-build, as well as offices and schools.
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