Timber: An ancient construction material with a bright future

Abstract

Since before recorded history mankind has used timber for construction and, in "tree rich" rural societies, timber has remained a primary construction material ever since. This reflects the ease with which it can be sourced, its excellent mechanical properties, light weight and easiness to shape. However, over the centuries there has developed widespread aversion within the world's burgeoning urban areas to using timber, because construction practices led to poor fire performance if timber was used. Urbanized societies essentially forgot over recent centuries that if used properly timber is a high-performance construction material. Modern advances in construction know-how and fire suppression techniques coupled with concerns over sustainability of other options, have created conditions wherein timber is re-emerging as a major construction material. Timber has begun to be used in construction of relatively tall urban buildings, rather than being regarded as only suitable for small buildings, and occasional large showpieces that are well isolated from neighbouring structures. This paper summarizes the story of the discovery, diminution and beginnings of re-emergence of timber as a major structural and construction material, and links that to contemporary research at the University of New Brunswick and collaborating institutions.Key words: design, fire, fire engineering, performance-based design, seismic response, structural design, structural response, timber, timber engineering, urbanization, wood RÉSUMÉBien avant que ne s' écrive l'histoire, le genre humain utilisait le bois à des fins de construction et dans les sociétés rurales « riches en arbres », le bois est demeuré un matériau de construction de premier plan jusqu'à ce jour. Cela découle de la facilité avec laquelle il peut être extrait, ses excellentes propriétés mécaniques, son poids léger et sa facilité à être façonner. Cependant, au cours des siècles, il s' est développé une aversion répandue dans toutes les zones urbaines en développement envers l'utilisation du bois, parce que les pratiques de construction ont entraîné des performances déplorables lors d'incendie lorsque le bois était utilisé. Les sociétés urbanisées ont essentiellement oublié au cours des derniers siècles que lorsqu'il est adéquatement utilisé, le bois constitue un matériau de construction à haute performance. Les progrès récents en technologies de construction et en techniques de suppression des incendies ajoutés aux questions sur la durabilité des autres options, ont créé les conditions par lesquelles le bois émerge à nouveau en tant que matériau de construction de premier ordre. Le bois commence à être utilisé pour la construction d' édifices urbains en hauteur, plutôt que d' être considéré comme étant réservé à de petits bâtiments et occasionnellement à des structures apparentes de grandes dimensions bien isolées des constructions avoisinantes. Cet article résume l'histoire de la découverte, la diminution et l'amorce de la nouvelle émergence du bois en tant que matériau ...

The Role of Law in Transformative Environmental Policies—A Case Study of “Timber in Buildings Construction in Germany”

“…Timber has been applied in construction since the Stone Age. With new technologies it has been transformed into a modern construction material [20]. Today, timber is not only used for singleand two-family houses, but also for multi-storey buildings [19].…”

“…Applied to the case study, the most pertinent question is whether law is open for innovations and experiments regarding timber construction in niches [22]. Existing policies and regulations for buildings construction, especially building law and building products law, were not developed with the types of houses and building methods of "greener" construction in mind [20]. These will be analyzed as follows.…”

Ahşap ve Ahşap Yapıların Dünü, Bugünü ve Yarını

“…Fakat geçmişte yaşanan büyük yangınlar sonucunda insanlar tarafından ahşabın kolay yanabilmesi ve dayanıklı olmaması algısı, artan nüfusa yetebilecek kadar yüksek ahşap yapıların yapılamayacağı düşüncesi ahşabın yapılarda kullanımını azaltmıştır. Son yıllarda ahşap mühendisleri, yangın mühendisleri ve diğer bilim insanları tarafından yapılan Ar-Ge çalışmaları sonucunda yangın algılama ve koruma sistemlerinin geliştirilmesi, çok katlı ahşap yapıların yapılmasını sağlayan yeni ahşap yapı ürünlerinin ve yapı sistemlerinin bulunmasıyla beraber ahşap yapıların tekrardan altın çağını yaşayacağı görülmektedir [34]. Geçmişten günümüze kadar yapılan ahşap yapı sistemleri ve yeni buluşların yardımıyla, ekosisteme zarar…”

Mechanical Properties of Fast‐Growing Poplar Reinforced with Carbon Fiber

“…Timber structure is a popular structural form in various regions of the world for its seismic resistance and heat preservation [1].…”