This work contributed to the University winning the 2015
Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its work in wood science
and technology. The research assistant David Crawford
moved on to CCG following this research and is now project
lead at Yoker.
The latest chapter in the story of the partnership
between the company and the University, supported
by the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, will also
call on Edinburgh Napier’s expertise in acoustics, energy
performance and sustainability, based in the Institute
for Sustainable Construction.
The Robin Mackenzie Partnership, the University’s
acoustic consultancy division, which carries out more
than 500 projects per year, will provide advice on
architectural acoustic design, sound insulation testing
and industrial noise reduction.
Meanwhile, the University’s Scottish Energy Centre
will offer expertise in energy monitoring, thermal
performance assessment, systems design and building
performance evaluation.
Cross laminated timber construction
The Yoker project – second only to nine-storey Murray
Grove in London’s Hackney in terms of large-scale CLT
developments in the UK – also offers potential for
knowledge exchange between industry and academic
partners, and the thermal and acoustic information
which is gathered will feed into future MSc Architectural
and Building Performance teaching programmes.
Associate Professor Robert Hairstans, Head of the
Centre for Offsite Construction + Innovative Structures,
says: “Edinburgh Napier has an established relationship
with CCG, underpinning their strategic innovation with
academic rigour. This project demonstrates how the
challenges associated with specifying modern sustainable
construction techniques such as CLT can be alleviated
through this type of collaborative approach.
CLT panels are produced from kiln-dried spruce/fir
planks which are laid into sheets before being stacked
at right angles and glued under high-pressure bonding
in perpendicular layers. They can be used for all elements
of a building’s superstructure; the walls, floors and roofs.
“Via the academic partnership, the thermal and acoustic
performance of details are robustly informed and third
party tested in-situ. Closing this information loop ensures
robustness in design.”
Efforts to establish demand in Scotland come amid
international recognition that the material represents
an exciting development in the field of timber engineering.
The University plans to bring together all of the information
gathered during the life of the project, scheduled for completion
in autumn 2017, to produce a CLT best practice guide.
Interested
in this project?
Professor Sean Smith
Institute for
Sustainable Construction
[email protected]
Get the whole story at
www.napier.ac.uk/impact
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