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 //