CubeX Industries’ Post

📕 A new book, 'Timber! How wood can help save the world from climate breakdown' is set to cause controversy in the conservative world of construction and in the more traditionally-minded elements of the environmental movement. 🚀 'Timber!' will be officially published on Thursday - with advanced copies provided to all attendees of the UK Timber Design Conference on Wednesday 26 June. 🌲 Book synopsis The carbon emissions generated by concrete and steel construction are well-known. Why then are we not using more carbon-friendly building materials? In a passionate and compelling argument author Paul Brannen advocates the use of timber in buildings wherever possible. His controversial and counterintuitive argument is clear: planting trees is not enough to reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, we also must chop them down and use more wood in our buildings. The felling of trees is of course followed by new sapling planting so that the whole sustainable process can begin again i.e. no deforestation should occur. This is the first book to take timber from the margins to the mainstream, from the forests to the cities. It tackles head-on questions about sustainability, safety, the biodiversity of commercial forests and the pressures on land use. The case for timber as a construction material is persuasively made – the creation of new engineered timbers with the structural strength of steel and concrete enable us for the first time to build wooden skyscrapers – and draws on the latest developments in engineering and material science. In addition to the familiar forestry models, the book advocates alternatives such as wood farming and agroforestry that bring with them added biodiversity gains for farms. With the built environment currently responsible for 40 per cent of the world’s carbon emissions, Brannen’s message is unequivocal: we must change how we build. Timber! offers fresh and inventive ideas that over time could see our expanding cities storing more carbon than our expanding forests. 🔎 Read more and find out where to order your copy on our website. https://lnkd.in/eP8bxJii 🎫 Or come hear Paul Brannen speak on the book and get your advance copy at the UK Timber Design Conference - with less than a dozen tickets remaining. https://lnkd.in/e43_8cYP #timber #builtenvironment #climatebreakdown #wood #timefortimber #woodisgood #carbonemissions #climatechange #construction

With so many #trees being planted and used as #carbonoffset, the message here to cut more down may seem counterintuitive - but the damage caused by traditional #construction must be addressed. Worth taking a look at Timber Development UK and Timber! and considering how we can reconcile these seemingly opposing pathways to managing climate breakdown.

MTA Partner, Carol Phillips, was proud to have been a featured panelist at the National Forest Policy Conference this week, hosted by the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. This year's theme, "national challenges, natural solutions, and building a brighter future", was explored by numerous panelists representing diverse industries such as real estate, natural resources, construction, design, and urban planning. The conference discussed the critical role sustainable Canadian forestry can play to help combat wildfires, housing affordability and sustainability, and climate-smart practices.   Carol shared the stage with Dr. Mike Moffatt, PhD, Senior Director of Policy and Innovation at Smart Prosperity Institute, Derek Eaton, Director of Future Economy at the The Transition Accelerator/ L’Accélérateur de transition, and Patrick Chouinard, Founder of Element5, and moderator Marianne Berube, former Executive Director of the Canadian Wood Council.   “[Timber] is our only low carbon solution… and it’s so Canadian, and it’s so connected to this land. We have the potential for regional identity, as the forests don’t look the same across the country, so why do all of our buildings look the same across the country? I think it is a fantastic opportunity.” – Carol Phillips, Moriyama Teshima Architects   Watch the full segment here, with Carol’s segment beginning at the 1:21:33 mark: https://lnkd.in/e-GaF5wc   #moriyamateshima #forestry #forest #nationalforestpolicyconference #policy #policymaking #buildingindustry #construction #constructionindustry #canadianforest #canadianforest #wood #buildingmaterial #sustainable #sustainability #sustainabledesign #sustainableconstruction #sustainablebuilding #buildingwithwood #masstimber #masstimberconstruction #masstimberbuilding #architecture #mtarch

We value the contributions that our team makes in advocating for better, greener, and more sustainable buildings in urban centres. Next week, MaryAlice Keirstead will present her research on the impact of green roof accessibility design as it relates to maintenance practices, and the overall health of roof vegetation. Implementing efficient accessibility design, better facilitates affordable green roof maintenance for buildings. Maintenance efforts are essential for ensuring the long-term health of green roof vegetation. For green roofs to achieve their highest potential environmentally, economically and socially, accessibility design needs to improve. This will be presented as part of the emerging research sessions offered at CitiesAlive.   Keirstead will speak to the need for cohesive and ongoing dialogue between architects, engineers and landscape architects to pre-empt issues, minimize poor design decisions, and stay on top throughout the building and maintenance process. Limited in-field communication between professionals can create a disconnect in design, and incur costly, unnecessary repairs in the future.   She will address the importance of licensed green roof designers and how the City of Toronto, who pioneered green roof policy in North America, should implement a clear standardized approach that prioritizes maintenance-who does what – and at what stage. This ensures accountability, the success of the vegetation, and an economical way forward. https://lnkd.in/gDE7ASjf

So, how can urban jungles be encouraged in a way that is harmonious with both the human and animal kingdoms? While rewilding tends to be a concept that is linked to rural areas, city rewilding is now a developing strategy since the pandemic. According to Mossy Earth, an NGO that is trying to restore nature across a variety of ecosystems, cities can offer a positive platform to encourage and restore plant and animal habitats. “Although rewilding is generally associated with rural projects, rewilding in cities is just as dynamic and exciting and aims to achieve many of the same goals. Urban rewilding looks to restore natural processes and reintroduce nature on a city scale and has a wide range of benefits, from improving health to helping to tackle the biodiversity and climate crises.” According to the organization, benefits can be categorized into three main areas. Environmental benefits exist, such as pollution reduction, restoration of natural processes such as rainwater capture and boosting biodiversity. The knock-on effects of this, they claim, result in societal benefits such as populations experiencing better moods, a reduction in loneliness, stress and anger, lower blood pressure and healthier immune systems. “At its core, urban rewilding is about bringing back elements of wilderness, embracing natural processes and restoring ecosystems with less human interference. Rewilding within this city context can be done through small and big actions at an individual and city-wide scale.” #UrbanJungle #Rewilding #Pandemic #Restoration #AnimalHabitat #Construction #ConstructionIndustry

Understanding fire behavior in mass timber buildings is crucial for advancing sustainable construction. Researchers are conducting extensive studies to assess how mass timber performs under fire conditions, aiming to ensure safety and resilience in modern structures. These efforts are pivotal in promoting mass timber as a viable alternative to traditional building materials, aligning with environmental goals and innovative design. #MassTimber #SustainableConstruction #FireSafety #Innovation https://lnkd.in/g3aMP3wU

As mass timber has increased in popularity in the built environment industry, so has conflicting information on this topic. Next week at #Greenbuild2024, join San Francisco Associate Director, Amy Leedham, Jonathan Heppner from LEVER Architecture and Paul Vanderford from Sustainable Northwest for a workshop that will explore how owners and designers can realize the full potential of #masstimber construction and avoid potential pitfalls. Through this structured discussion Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, the experts will address topics such as: what does sustainable forestry look like? how do we source wood for a project? what are the most effective applications of mass timber construction? and how this can this be reflected in life cycle analysis? Read more about the session here:  https://lnkd.in/eRScxHVh We can't wait to see you there!

Important spotlight this one when you consider how essential it is for all of us protect ourselves from the impacts of flooding as best we can. Not just by investment in flood defences in all their forms, but also through the resilience of our homes, businesses and infrastructure to cope. The national strategy on this acknowledges that property level flood resilience has to be part of the solution. BUT…I have spent a good few years now working with experts across the sector, moving the action, knowledge and guidance on, to improve and embed flood resilience into our new and existing built environment. And I am often bewildered and frankly shocked, that many construction professionals not involved in this work seem to think this is a niche area…. Just a problem for those who are lucky enough to live by the sea or a river. They are wrong. - Wrong not just because of surface water flooding and impacts of storms across the land - Wrong not just because of impacts to major transportation links - Wrong not just because impacts to essential services like water and power are far reaching - Wrong not just because climate change is likely to dramatically extend the areas at risk and raise that risk - Wrong not just because of the national economic impacts of flood events if we are not able to recover quickly -Wrong if they think that planning controls and building regulations will mean our new buildings will be built to cope. They aren’t. (Flood Resilience is not covered by building regs in England and not policed by planners) - Wrong if they assume that all construction solutions are able to cope with flood events. They really arn’t. There is barely a system for testing flood performance let alone enforce it - Wrong not just because at heart this is a social issue. And if we continue down a path of building new homes that are not resilient, not considering how they perfom and what they are made out of along by just focusing on how fast and at what cost, then we have not only not solved a housing problem, we have created another

If you will be at #greenbuild2024 come hang out with me and a couple of very smart guys at our session on avoiding common pitfalls of mass timber construction!

One of the fastest growth industries in the built environment is the warehousing sector and now more than ever, every effort is being made to make these new distribution centres as sustainable and environmentally friendly as possible. For the new DPD UK Distribution Centre at Kingmoor Park in #Carlisle - this included prioritising the biodiversity of the site and protecting natural habitats.   We were originally appointed by Kingmoor Park in 2021 to carry out a landscape strategy that helped guide the design of the masterplan and configuration of plots across the wider K2 site – which once completed will provide over one million sq ft of new industrial/logistics space on a site with its own solar farm. Our strategy includes the creation of a network of interconnected habitats; foraging routes for birds, bats, mammals, invertebrates, plus opportunities to enhance the site’s biodiversity credentials with a particular focus on native species and protecting the existing Beck.   We then took first phase of the project – the new sustainably-built 62,286 sq ft distribution centre - through to construction.   The site now features an accessible path which reinstates a public right of way along the southern boundary adjacent to Cargo Beck stream – providing routes for walkers and employees to access the countryside fringes and the local path network. A sustainable drainage design that slows down and infiltrates rainwater from the paved surfaces into swales and ponds. The biodiverse planting across the site includes both open-grown and dense woodland tree planting, native hedges, amenity shrub planting, wildflower meadows, and moisture tolerant native marginal planting to swales and ponds.   Project team: Harlex Property | Gardiner & Theobald LLP | HORIZON fletcher|rae : architects and master-planners | Ramboll | WSP | Richard Boothroyd & Associates Ltd | Caddick Construction Limited #landscapearchitecture #landscapearchitect