Timber iQ February - March 2018 // Issue: 36 | Page 29

PROJECTS
The roof of the stand is formed from 11 cantilevered glue laminated (glulam) American white oak beams.
be used for hospitality all year-round. Then on summer
match days the wide windows can be thrown open, creating
one space that really engages spectators with the game.”
The structure is the outcome of close partnership
between stadium specialist architect Populous, engineers
Arup, American white oak supplier Robinson Lumber,
German engineered wood manufacturer Hess Timber, BAM
Construction and the AHEC, which is committed to
developing structural application of US hardwoods. AHEC
provided technical advice and helped to source the timber.
“The imagination of the architects, the inspiration of the
engineers and the skill and tenacity of the fabricators has
produced a landmark structure, which is a pivotal moment
in the evolution of timber construction. This is also an
exciting moment for us, turning our vision of what might be
possible structurally with our hardwoods, into a reality,”
says David Venables, European director of the American
Hardwood Export Council.
“Natural wood and cricket cannot be separated. The use
of willow for cricket bats and ash for the stumps is as much
part of the game as the leather balls, the state of the pitch
and of course the weather. Populous chose to specify
American white oak because it can be finely crafted, has a
beautiful golden colour and is immensely strong. These
characterful qualities make it the perfect choice for the
structure of a new canopy roof at Lord’s,” adds Johnso n.
The beams travelled the 600 miles (967km) from Hess’s
Kleinheubach plant to north London two on each truck and
were hoisted into place by contractor BAM, with crane mats
laid over the hallowed Lord’s turf.
The beams connect to the concrete wall at the restaurant
rear via embedded steel plates, and cantilever beyond steel
columns framing the windows, where they’re fixed with
glued-in rods. Above, the canopy is stretched over steel
hoops, giving the roof its scalloped effect, and these fix to
slender t-section rails with even slimmer fins below sitting
on rails bolted to the timber. The system was co-engineered
by Arup and Hess, with the steel to fabric connections from
Leicht Engineering.
“We had extensive experience of using temperate and
tropical hardwood for glulam and finger jointed
components, including structural elements. It’s mainly been
beech, but additionally oak, iroko, meranti, teak and
western red cedar. We also produce hybrid glulam,
combining spruce lamellas with a hardwood exterior
surface, including white oak for a project at King’s College,
Cambridge,” says Markus Golinski, head of sales, Hess
Timber. “Another advantage of American white oak’s
stiffness and uniformity is that we can predict deflection
levels and camber very precisely.”
American white oak came on the scene through
discussions with Arup. It already had experience of working
with engineered US hardwood in recent years, having
partnered with AHEC on its London Design Festival
structural timber showcase projects; the laminated US red
oak Timber Wave, tulipwood cross laminated timber (CLT)
Endless Stair; and 2016’s The Smile, which used the first
industrial scale tulipwood CLT panels.
Will Whitby, lead structural engineer at Arup, says, “Our
work on the Warner Stand at Lord’s brings this historic
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