Rafael Silveira
Building with timber is one of the most sustainable solutions we have today.
This statement may seem strange at first, however it is true.
Most people answer to this idea seeing deforestation as the primary consequence. However, timber can be grown to specific purposes, just like any other plant. Timber for buildings should not and can’t be taken from forests, but from wood plantations. In addition, timber grows on sun energy, and absorbs CO2 while doing it. Compared to other common building materials, like concrete and steel, timber has a much lower CO2 emission (even negative) and embodied energy.
Another common thought is that timber is not a safe material, regarding resistance to fire, insects and building in height. However, timber is a very suitable material regarding these characteristics too.
Fire regulations in buildings relate to the amount of time a material should resist in a fire, the objective of this is to provide time for people to escape from the building. Under fire, timber is carbonized on the outside, however, this layer of carbon protects the inside of the material, so even under fire, it can retain its structural capabilities. Regarding plagues or insects, it depends on the type of timber and the protection layers it has. High density timber is more immune to insects as it is by standard harder. In addition, protection layers (artificial or natural) may be applied to the material, protecting it.
Besides, timber is not only constrained to small buildings, buildings up to nine stories high have been built in England, some up to 30 stories are in design process, and numerous studies (being Tall wood one of the most complete) have been conducted aiming at the feasibility of these buildings.
Approaches such as hybrid solutions are also being studied and constructed, using timber columns and concrete slabs.
However strange it may sound for some, building with timber is a good and feasible solution, some have been already calling the 21st century the timber age.