WEST LCBE

LCRI Conference - 18th November 2014

Amalia Banteli

Angela Ruiz del Portal

- WEST LCBE Courses

- Welsh Timber course. Snapshot

- Upcoming course: Energy simulation

- Low Carbon Building Principles

- Welsh Timber in Building

Construction: Myths & Facts

- Energy simulation:

Building and urban scale

Courses

AVAILABLE

until

END 2014

1 Credit units

= 10 hours

Welsh Timber in Building

Construction: Myths & Facts

Snapshot

Course Outline

Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5

• Introduction

• Myths & Facts

• Timber in History

• Situation today

• Benefits

• Considerations

• Why local timber

• Sustainable

lifecycle

• Welsh species

• Supply chain

• Assessment

• Applications

• Cladding and

Carpentry

• Components

• Structures

• Case studies

• Contemporary

timber building

• Case studies

• Final

assessment

Self Study + Course delivery = 10 hours

Flexible completion - suggested 5 weeks / 2 hours per week

Available until End of 2014

Course Outline

Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5

• Introduction

• Myths & Facts

• Timber in History

• Situation today

• Benefits

• Considerations

• Why local timber

• Sustainable

lifecycle

• Welsh species

• Supply chain

• Assessment

• Applications

• Cladding and

Carpentry

• Components

• Structures

• Case studies

• Contemporary

timber building

• Case studies

• Final

assessment

Self Study + Course delivery = 10 hours

Flexible completion - suggested 5 weeks / 2 hours per week

Available until End of 2014

Welsh homegrown timber (softwoods) is not dense

enough to be suitable for construction.

Wales has one of the most favourable climates in

Europe for growing conifers.

Nowadays in Wales we can construct up to eight

storey buildings using timber construction systems.

Myths & Facts

Environmental Benefits

• Low carbon footprint

• Low energy intensive

• Less and recyclable waste

• Renewable resource

• High load bearing capacity:

– Light weight - Reduced foundations and transportation costs

• Prefabrication – reduced building costs (speed)

– Not weather dependant

– Ease of erection

• Durability

Economic Benefits

• Maintenance of traditional skills and knowledge

• Healthy environment

– Low allergen*

– Low toxin material*

– Hygroscopic material - Stabilises indoor humidity

*in its natural state

Social Benefits

Welsh Species

Douglas Fir Larch Pine Sitka Spruce

Ash Beech Oak Sweet

Chestnut

Sycamore

Considerations

• Characteristics of different species

• Moisture content

• Mechanical Performance / strength

• Natural Durability

• Design requirements

• Timber components

• Structural systems

• Timber cladding

• Carpentry

Timber Applications

• Post and beam

• Glulam

• Open and closed panels

• Solid wood panels

• Ty Unnos

Structural Systems

Post and beam

Image by MIT

Structural Systems

- load bearing post and beam

- many options for wall infill

components and external

cladding.

Images by Oakwrights

Structural Systems

Newby

– Exterior natural York stone

– Thatched roofs in a traditional

style

– Oak post & beam frame

– Softwood enclosure panels and

cut roof

– Self build process

– 4 days: main frame completed

Post and beam: Case study

Image by www.alibaba.com

Image by www.fordaq.com

Glulam*

– Smaller pieces of timber

glued together to make bigger

and stable elements

– Benefits:

strength,dimensional stability,

large section sizes

* (Glued laminated timber)

Structural Systems

Glulam

Image by archiexpo.com

Image by dezeen.com

Structural elements:

beams and columns,

rafters,

trusses,

arches,

curved portals,

arched bridges,

curved beams

Case studies

Structural Systems

Image by WKW

Image by tinyhouseblog.com

Structural Systems

• Open panels:

- Main structure: softwood studs

- Bracing: rigid boards such as OSB

- Nailed together and filled with

insulation

• Closed panels (e.g. SIPs):

- Similar to open panels

- Prefabricated with:

- insulation

- finishes

- services

Open and close panels

Closed panels: Case study

Images www.feildenfowles.co.uk

Structural Systems

Ty Pren. Passive House: Trallong, South Wales

– Structural system: SIPs

– Larch cladding: sourced and felled from the client’s

estate 2 miles away

Closed panels: Case study

Image www.feildenfowles.co.uk

Structural Systems

Image by OpenCourseWare

Structural Systems

Image by commons.wikimedia.org

- Formed by parallel softwood lamellae

- Joined together with nails or

hardwood dowels

Solid wood panels:

Dowellam / Brettstapel

Solid wood panels: Case study

Images by WKW

Structural Systems

Visitor Centre Coed y Brenin

– Brettstapel panels out of

Welsh grown softwoods

– First example of this type of

application of Welsh

softwoods

– Sitka spruce and Douglas fir

Brettstapel lamellae joined

using ribbed beech dowels

– Douglas fir cladding

Structural Systems

Image by Jamesh251 Image by coedcymru.org.uk

- Hollow box beam,

ladder truss, wooden

or steel connectors

- Ty Unnos panels can

provide wall, floor and

roof sections.

- The system was

developed to utilise

Welsh grown softwood in

many types of buildings.

Ty Unnos

Image by Coed Cymru

Image by Coombs Jones architects+makers

Structural Systems

The Long House

– Passive house in Ebbw Vale

– Code for Sustainable Homes 5

– Ty Unnos panels made from

locally grown softwood Sitka

spruce

– Chestnut cladding

– Support to local economy

Ty Unnos: Case study

Collaborations

Course Outline

Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4 Section 5

• Introduction

• Myths & Facts

• Timber in History

• Situation today

• Benefits

• Considerations

• Why local timber

• Sustainable

lifecycle

• Welsh species

• Supply chain

• Assessment

• Applications

• Cladding and

Carpentry

• Components

• Structures

• Case studies

• Contemporary

timber building

• Case studies

• Final

assessment

Self Study + Course delivery = 10 hours

Flexible completion - suggested 5 weeks / 2 hours per week

Available until End of 2014

WEST Course:

Energy Simulation.

Building & Urban Scale

• Existing energy simulation tools are predominantly for single buildings.

• There is a gap on early stages design modelling tools.

• Preliminary understanding of energy efficiency of buildings at an early

stage is both powerful and essential for low-carbon design.

• Tools required should be: usable, simple, accessible, flexible and

validated.

Efficient Planning Tools

Image by RMCAANA

Software

VIRVIL plugin – Bridging Sketchup and HTB2

Aim of the plugin:

• Early stage thermal modelling

• Viable large scale thermal analysis in the built environment

• Usability, accessibility, simplicity and compatibility

Software

Flow Diagram of the Virvil Tools

Software

Visualising thermal calculations results

• Excel spreadsheets (with various

different tabs and graphs)

• The results are also embedded

directly into the 3D model. Figures

of the calculations can be found

without leaving the Sketchup

interface

WEST Course

Energy Simulation: Building & Urban Scale:

• Conduct early stage energy assessment of designs

at both building and urban scale

• Run the plugin modelling a building with/ without

urban context

• Explore the solar potential on facades and impact

of shading devices through the use of the plugin

WEST Course

Course outline

Section 1

Online

Section 2

Online

Section 3

Face to face

Section 4

Online

• Introduction to the

plugin

• What the plugin can

predict

• What the plugin can

test

• Installation of

software

• Exercise on basic use

of the plugin

• Assessment 1

• Face to face

workshop

• Working on your own

model

• Report writing

(Assessment 2)

• Report upload on

WEST Learn

• Feedback on the

submitted report

• Previous examples of

plugin use

• Your feedback about

the course

Section 3: Face to face session available:

Swansea: 25th November, 8.30 - 12.30

Llandudno: 27th November, 12.30 - 16.30

Thank you!