David Lomax

David Lomax, the senior associate at UK-based architecture firm Waugh Thistleton Architects, gave attendees of the recent Wood Solutions Conference held in Vancouver a look at some of the mass timber projects putting the United Kingdom on the map as a wood construction innovator.  Lomax said his firm are first and foremost architects, and their work isn’t just about sustainability or “more stuff stuck on the outside of the building.” Rather the firm concentrates on timber buildings first and foremost to address the current housing shortage in the United Kingdom. The houses that are available are not affordable, he said and “not only do we have to do more stuff, we have to do it differently.” …The solution, Lomax said, is to build in timber and build off-site. Reducing reliance on tradespeople and using machines in dry, clean environments, which then makes construction a desirable profession, would be a way forward that utilizes timber as a key component.