Category Archives: Wood, Paper & Green Building

As reported by Ramtech, Timber Square is an ambitious project by Landsec aimed at achieving net-zero in London. The site, which spans over 370,000 sq ft, is safeguarded by Ramtech’s WES3 wireless fire alarm system, installed by Wingate. The development is conveniently located near London Bridge and Waterloo… The project aims to retain 85% of the existing structure and utilise cross-laminated timber, significantly reducing CO2 emissions. …Timber Square presents unique fire safety challenges due to its timber construction. …During construction, the risk is heightened because of exposed timber and other combustible materials on-site. …Wingate installed over 400 WES3 devices on-site to address these fire safety risks. The WES3 system, a fully customisable temporary wireless system, provides a simple and secure method for communicating fire and medical emergencies in complex environments.

The Netherlands — Triodos Groenfonds co-finances the construction of The Urban Woods Delft, a unique wooden building in the City of Delft, together with Triodos Bank. The building will contain 102 energy-neutral, climate-adaptive and nature-inclusive apartments for the private rental market. The Urban Woods Delft building has a modular and demountable construction, allowing for the layout to be adjusted as need change. It will be among the tallest buildings in the Netherlands  that are made entirely of certified sustainable wood, without a concrete core. It is  constructed with a tree-saving technique and the use of biobased materials – such as cross-laminated timber and flax – greatly contributes to a lower environmental footprint. The complex will consist of eleven floors including a (bike) basement.

TASMANIA, Australia — The release of the first official concept designs of the proposed Macquarie Point stadium predictably ignited the conversation around the project, spurning a swag of differing opinions and questions from the Tasmanian public. …Most people have questions, and they range from roof shadows to the heavy use of timber. …The type of timber being proposed is an engineered wood product called glulam. However, the particular local species is yet to be decided. “So we’re not just using things like radiata pine, we actually want to use eucalypt,” Mr Richardson said. We’ve done some work with that. There’s more to do and we’re looking into supply chain issues. “We’re wanting to invest in Tasmania, so all the components are built here rather than the timber being brought over to the mainland and brought back.” 

Forest and Wood Products Australia (FWPA) is set to spearhead an initiative highlighting the advantages of timber framing in construction, aiming to boost its promotion efforts. Originally founded within the Softwood Manufacturing Chamber of the Australian Forest Products Association and financially supported by the Timber Framing Collective, the ‘Timber Framing: The Ultimate Renewable’ campaign will undergo a rebrand under WoodSolutions and be overseen by FWPA to sustain its achievements. To oversee the effort, FWPA has appointed former board member and Timber Framing Collective founding member, Christine Briggs, as Campaign Manager. …FWPA’s Head of Build Environment and WoodSolutions Program, Kevin Peachey, emphasised the importance of the campaign in supporting the forest and wood products industry. …In addition to existing campaign funding provided by the Timber Framing Collective funding partners, FWPA has committed further investment to ensure the ongoing success of the campaign.

You might think that wearing a top made from wood pulp would give instant eco-credentials – it is renewable, biodegradable, and, having once been a tree, it has soaked up some carbon along the way. What’s more, it’s not plastic. This is why many brands are opting for viscose, Lycocell, acetate and modal – soft, silky, semi-synthetic fabrics made from tree-pulp – as an apparently more sustainable option. Except that the chances are that your wood-pulp top may not be so green. “Deforestation continues to be a problem,” says Nicole Rycroft, of Canopy, a Vancouver-based NGO. …In total, about 300m trees are logged globally each year. …“Significant amounts” of viscose come from endangered forests in Brazil, Canada and Indonesia, says Rycroft. …One-sixth of the world’s biggest viscose producers are described as “high risk” in CanopyStyle’s latest Hot Button Report, which assesses producers’ risk of deforestation and their adoption of lower-carbon alternatives to virgin wood-pulp.

With the advent of the Olympic Games in Paris—after an entire century—just around the corner, the historically and culturally rich suburbs of Saint-Denis prepare for a grand welcome with the award-winning Aquatics Centre. Designed by Cécilia Gross of VenhoevenCS and Laure Mériaud of Ateliers 2/3/4/, it is the sole permanent building out of all the new structures built to host the Games. …The project is a part of Paris’ urban renewal strategy, aspiring to contribute to a longstanding legacy for the neighbourhood and beyond. …The building features inclined walls sheathed in horizontal wooden members—creating a warm, inviting facade design. The form of the expansive wooden roof resembles a gentle wave, reflecting the fluidity of the pool on the floor. …Using bio-sourced wood as a construction material brings warmth and comfort to the arena while addressing the structural, aesthetic, acoustic, energy, social and urban concerns. 

TORONTO and PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Soft N Dry Diapers Corp. and its subsidiary Soft N Dry de México, is proud to announce the far-reaching global success of their Tree Free disposable baby diapers across global media outlets, emphasizing the interest and growing demand for sustainable new products. Reaching a combined audience of 440 million, the press releases on May 29 and June 18, 2024, following recent expansions into Brazil and Argentina, were featured by 1,083 established media outlets in the last 30-days across Canada, the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and throughout Latin America. Soft N Dry’s entry into Brazil and Argentina underscores its commitment to sustainability and high-performance baby care products. The company’s proprietary ecoFlex Core technology eliminates the need for cellulosic tree fibers in diapers. This innovation not only conserves natural resources but also offers superior absorbency and cost-efficiency, making eco-friendly options more accessible and affordable.

NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia — The electricity network that covers 95% of NSW is phasing out wooden power poles, sparking a fight with the timber industry and the Coalition, but delighting environmentalists campaigning to end native forest logging. The timber poles come almost exclusively from state forests on the Mid North Coast, many of which are likely to become part of the Great Koala National Park promised by the Minns government before the election. …The Australian Forest Products Association (AFPA) says the Mid North Coast provides 90% of power poles in NSW and 70% nationwide. Regional and rural electricity distributor Essential Energy is switching to power poles made from a fibreglass and resin composite with a UV coating to boost bushfire resilience. A spokesperson said reducing the impact of natural disasters on customers was a key driver since burnt power poles can cause “loss of vital communications links.

South Australian-sourced timber will form the backbone of two of the state’s new technical colleges – simultaneously reducing the carbon impact of the construction work and supporting the state’s $3 billion forestry industry. The Malinauskas Government’s new technical colleges at Tonsley and Mount Gambier will both be constructed with timber sourced from Timberlink Australia’s new $70 million NeXTimber manufacturing facility at Tarpeena in the state’s south east. The plant is Australia’s only combined Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glue Laminated Timber (GLT) manufacturing facility and is located adjacent to Timberlink’s state-of-the-art sawmill. …The technical college at Mount Gambier, which is due to begin construction in early 2025, will be co-located in the research and education precinct alongside the existing TAFE and the new Forestry Centre of Excellence. The State Government has committed $208 million to five technical colleges.

Zara parent company Inditex has joined environmental nonprofit Canopy’s Pack4Good initiative to eliminate materials from endangered and ancient forests from its paper packaging, according to a Monday news release from Canopy. Inditex committed to another Canopy initiative designed to eliminate the use of those materials in its textiles a decade ago, per Canopy. Partners in the Pack4Good campaign focus on sustainable alternatives to logging ancient and endangered forests, which Canopy said includes using recycled pulp and paper, next generation solutions and receiving a certification from the Forest Stewardship Council, an independent nonprofit focused on protecting forests. …Canopy has previously partnered with H&M Group and LVMH to remove pulp-based materials such as viscose from the supply chain to protect ancient and endangered forests. 

Blair Boyer and Clare Scriven

South Australian-sourced timber will form the backbone of two of the state’s new technical colleges – simultaneously reducing the carbon impact of the construction work and supporting the state’s $3 billion forestry industry. The Malinauskas Government’s new technical colleges at Tonsley and Mount Gambier will both be constructed with timber sourced from Timberlink Australia’s new $70 million NeXTimber manufacturing facility at Tarpeena in the state’s south east. The plant is Australia’s only combined Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Glue Laminated Timber (GLT) manufacturing facility and is located adjacent to Timberlink’s state-of-the-art sawmill. …Structures using this timber can be built up to 12 storeys and even taller when combined with other materials in a hybrid timber construction.

British Wool has announced an investment in NexGen Tree Shelters, a firm specialising in biodegradable tree shelters, hedging and vole guards made from British wool. The investment will enable NexGen to start production of its eco-friendly tree shelters, which have undergone development and testing since winning the Innovation in Wool award in 2020. The new partnership will launch NexGen’s products from development to market, with an overall aim of enhancing sustainability, eliminating single-use plastics and driving demand for British wool. …The tree shelters are made from British wool, a polyol made from ethically sourced natural and renewable products and an innovative custom polymer. They are bio-based and environmentally degradable, breaking down gradually by microbial action and environmental degradation to feed the soil and support the ecosystem surrounding the tree.