Material of the 21st Century: WOOD (highly sustainable)
Article
Considering that 36 percent of the total carbon emissions in the construction industry in the last decade came from the European construction industry and 39 percent from the United States, some innovations can be followed to ensure sustainability in the construction industry and to take precautions against global warming. Current regulation in many countries of the EU encouraging the use of renewable materials in buildings indicates the direction the construction industry should follow in many other parts of the world. If indeed these measures are adopted across the EU and beyond – if other countries begin to follow this trend – there will be significantly more use of wood in cities (ArchiLine Wooden Houses, 2021). This means a more livable future. Just like Finland started to do.
WHY WOOD
1. Less cost
2. Can be constructed in a practical way with less harm to the environment
3. Recyclable (Wood is easier to recycle compared to steel or concrete, and wood can also be used practically in other sectors, for example the furniture industry.)
4. Wood itself is a readily available material and does not require large amounts of fossil fuels in its production, as does steel or concrete.
5. Absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere (Unless it burns and rots)
6. In particular, timber is lighter and more durable than steel or concrete.
7. Has minimal expansion and contraction
8. Contrary to popular perception, wood is more resistant to fire than steel.
9. Wood is a light construction material compared to the load it carries and can be ductile against earthquake loads.
Another issue is that buildings can reach a certain height depending on the materials they use. As shown in Annex 1, the tallest buildings can be up to 100 meters high if steel is used, while this height can be up to 40 meters using cross-laminated timber (Structural Timber Association, n.d).
However, Mjøstårnet (Lake Tower), which was completed in Norway in 2019, became the tallest wooden tower in the world with 85.4 meters. This 18-storey building, with each floor of 640 m2, was built according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Life (Eko Yapı, World's Tallest Wooden Structure, 2020). Thus, we all witnessed how great the potential of wood can be and that we can build complex buildings with wood.
In England, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Australia and America the new buzzword is 'wood' and in total there are now around two dozen such buildings, each with wood at their core. Architects around the world continue to discover the many advantages of wood.
The best part of laminated wood technology is that it will increase the number of trees. The cut trees will be replaced by new ones and even more will be planted. Moreover, it will continue to absorb carbon even when cut. Thus, soil and water quality will improve and there will be an observable development in the ecosystem.
I hope the use of wood in construction will increase in Türkiye.
Aysara Özenç, 2021
REFERENCES LINKS:
https://ownwoodenhouse.com/index.pl?act=PRODUCT&id=227