Developing solutions to design and construct with sustainable and renewable building materials is now everyday practice here at Scott Brownrigg. Our latest work with renewable solutions company - Stora Enso has resulted in the creation of a flexible timber office.

As well as the environmental and efficiency benefits associated with building with timber, office buildings constructed with wood enhance occupants’ health and wellbeing, with further benefits in terms of speed and off-site construction. Recent studies indicate that natural design in the workplace can increase the health and wellbeing of employees by 13% and their productivity by 8%.

The Timber Office combines carbon reduction in building fabric and innovation. With an adaptable design, that uses a modular, kit of parts approach. Whilst the system is comparable to steel and concrete it has all the advantages of a timber product, significantly reducing construction time compared to the use of steel and concrete. It also reduces carbon emissions and transport emissions; the pre-assembled system ensures the product is transported to site in optimised loads. Timber buildings also improve life cycle performance.

“A great advantage is the significantly reduced weight of the system when compared to steel and concrete. This gives benefits to a reduced sub-structure and foundation requirements, which keeps the costs down. It is also a modular system, clipped together on site with a lot less bespoke work on site. It also means that in the future buildings can easily and quickly be extended by adding floors.”

Ed Hayden, Director

The system applies to many types of buildings including linear buildings and tall buildings, in urban locations or on business parks. Enabling offices to be built in any form or plan layout with service distribution, acoustics and fire key considerations.

The system uses laminated veneer lumber (LVL) and Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) panels, with the LVL rib panels giving good fire performance, a great span and attractive timber soffits.

“By replacing concrete in buildings with massive wood products like Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) and Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), we contribute to a positive impact on the environment, since wood stores carbon over its lifecycle. By using wood, we can help cut carbon emissions by up to 75%”.

Sebastián Hernández, R&D Manager for Building Concepts at Stora Enso

It is simple and quick to construct using a clip system with the building form achieved through a repetition of the chosen grids, which are selected not only for efficiency but also to fit the general shape and architecture of the building.

Click to view the full webcast introduction to The Timber Office.