2023

Innovation Patterns in
Timber construction

1
 01 Background

02 Research Questions

03 Review Method
Agenda

04 Literature Review Results

05 Discussion of Results

06 Conclusion

07 Questions

2
 Background
❖ Construction industry
❖ ≈ 40% CO2 emissions and 35% total energy consumption
❖ Structural timber (example: CLT, LVL, Glulam)
❖ Shorter construction duration
❖ Lower carbon footprint
❖ Widely used in tall buildings (Brock Commons Tallwood House,
commercial and private homes in Europe)
❖ Uncertainty around mass timber construction
❖ South Africa: 50% of homes use wood trusses, 1% are timber homes
❖ My goal:
❖ Determine the position of the South African timber industry
❖ Suggest how the position may be expanded
3
 Research Questions
What are the main inhibitors of mass timber in the
1
structural landscape?

What innovation paths/ideas may increase the

2
adoption of mass timber in construction?

4
 Review Method

• Boolean search operators and key words

Search strategy – 1
• Population of screening table (research question
relevance and topic/title of article)
• Identify compliance to inclusion/exclusion
criteria
• Scopus database used for search
•
•
Example “Timber” AND (“plasterboard” OR “fire”)
Sorted according to inclusion and exclusion criteria
(advantages of mass timber construction and
reference to bamboo)
2 – Screening and Selection

• Atlas.ti – data extraction tool

Data extraction and –3 • Codes (CLT, flammability) to compose Sankey
diagrams
quality assessment • Author matrix (article author, main ideas and
gaps in research)
• Concept matrix (recurring themes, concepts to
discuss further)
5
Review Method – Main concepts
identified
What are the main inhibitors of mass timber in the
1
structural landscape?
❖ Inhibitors to mass adoption of MTC (25 articles)
❖ Types of timber (6 articles)

What innovation paths/ideas may increase the

2
adoption of mass timber in construction?
❖ Benefits of timber in construction (16 articles)
❖ Innovation paths/ ideas (22 articles)

6
 Literature Review Results –
Year of Publication
Scopus publication Year

1900’s 2000’s

Year of Publication
Number of Articles 12 10
10 8 8
8
6 5
4 3 3 Frequency
2
2 1 1
0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Year 7
 Literature Review Results –
Geographical Origin of Study
Origin of Study
15 13

Number of Articles
10 8 Frequency
6 6 5
5 3
0
South South Multiple Europe North Oceania
Africa America countries America
Year

❖ Germany 1990 to 2017 – timber residential home market increase 6 – 18%

❖ United Kingdom 2015 – percentage of new timber homes reached 27.6%
❖ Rapid development in European timber industry
❖ North America development – Ascent building in Milwaukee
❖ South Africa – focal area in study, therefore in a silo bin
8
 Literature Review Results –
Main Concepts

Main Concepts within Literature

30
25

Number of Articles
25 22 Frequency
20 16
15
10 6
5
0
Inhibitors Benefits of Timber Types Innovation
Timber in Paths/Ideas
Construction
Concepts

9
 Literature Review Results –
Benefits of Timber Construction
❖ Benefits from most to least ❖ Carbon Sequestration
prominent
❖ Majority associated with ❖ Construction Time
CLT
❖ May be assumed to be ❖ Energy Efficiency
extended to 3 considered
types
❖ Environmental

❖ Timber Recycling

10
 Literature Review Results –
Inhibitors of Timber Construction
Resource Availability

❖ Public knowledge and Building Codes

Public knowledge and
perception, fire
perception
performance and
durability
Deforestation Fire Performance
❖ Most common
inhibitors
❖ Some inhibitors
Durability Education and
addressed through
training
solutions/innovation
Financial Viability
11
 Literature Review Results –
Innovations and Solutions
Education and Training

Public Knowledge and Perception

Fire Performance

Resource Availability

Hybrid Building
Timber Recycling

Durability 12
 Discussion of Results – Timber
Types
❖ Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)
❖ Perpendicular layers of dried lumber bonded by an adhesive
❖ Properties: high strength, stiffness, dimensional stability and accuracy
❖ Popular wood type: softwoods bonded with polyurethane adhesive
❖ Glue Laminated Timber (Glulam)
❖ Layers of strength-tested wood, bonded with moisture resistant adhesive
❖ Widely used in Europe and North America
❖ Properties: size and shape flexibility, high strength: weight
❖ Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL)
❖ Bonded thin wood veneers
❖ Properties: high dimensional stability and strength – low-rise construction
❖ Europe – coniferous forests
❖ South Africa – SA pine from sawmills and eucalypt trees for CLT
13
Discussion of Results – Benefits of
Timber in Construction
❖ Carbon Sequestration
❖ Europe and USA – if forests managed sustainably:
❖ Reduce cradle-to-construction emissions by 35 – 47%
❖ Reduce space-conditioning energy by 30-40%
❖ South Africa – roof truss comparison
❖ Light gauge steel truss ≈ 2 x environmental impact of timber truss

❖ Construction Time
❖ CLT = high dimensional accuracy, prefabrication and modular construction
❖ Reduces time to erect building significantly
❖ According to estimates by industry professionals:
❖ Reinforced concrete building (≈42 weeks) and timber building (≈21 weeks)
❖ CLT estimated at 4-7 days per floor
❖ Reinforced concrete estimated at 21 – 30 days per floor
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Discussion of Results – Benefits of
Timber in Construction
❖ Environmental and Energy Efficiency
❖ Reducing pressure on freshwater resources
❖ Timber is highly recyclable - reduce waste in landfills and increase recovery of
demolition scrap
❖ Reduction in operational energy of buildings
❖ Wood has superior insulation abilities to steel and concrete
❖ Manufacturing of light gauge steel = 6.65 x manufacture of structural timber
❖ Timber Recycling
❖ Re-purpose structural wood into low-grade products at end-of-life
❖ Capitalize on sequestration and reduces need for new wood products
❖ CLT is a good candidate for timber recycling
❖ Bio-fuel use if reuse is impractical – lowers positive environmental impact
❖ Decomposition in landfill or incineration releases carbon back into atmosphere
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 Discussion of Results – Main
Inhibitors for Timber Construction
❖ Durability
❖ Airtightness impacts durability
❖ If leakage → increase in energy consumption and mould growth risk
❖ High initial moisture content (20 – 26%) reduces airtightness
❖ Panels with ≈ 13% initial moisture perform better
❖ Wetting of timber during construction must be avoided
❖ Local climate, wall positioning, constructing details affected wall moisture response
❖ Incorrect waterproofing of wall
❖ Risk of moisture absorption and decay → costly to fix

❖ Resource Availability
❖ Growing popularity = higher demand
❖ Deforestation – mostly due to clearance for agriculture
❖ Sustainable management is essential for widespread mass timber construction
❖ If not, can result in shortage of global resources
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 Discussion of Results – Main
Inhibitors for Timber Construction
❖ Fire Performance:
❖ Resistance to complete burnout during a fire is an issue
❖ After decay phases, risk of structural failure is high
❖ Adhesives
❖ Typical failure temperature of adhesives – 200 - 400°C
❖ Polyurethane used in South Africa for CLT manufacture
❖ Polyurethane → poor flame and delamination resistance when bonded to eucalyptus
wood

❖ Public Knowledge and Perception

❖ Survey of 518 global professionals regarding mass timber construction
❖ Higher insurance premiums, maintenance costs and deforestation
❖ Positive view on economic viability
❖ Higher opinionated knowledge than technical knowledge present

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 Discussion of Results – Main
Inhibitors for Timber Construction
❖ Public Knowledge and Perception
❖ Survey of 38 construction professionals
❖ Durability
❖ Lack of demand
❖ High maintenance costs
❖ Other surveys noted poor fire performance as a barrier
❖ In South Africa:
❖ Traditional construction viewed as employment opportunities
❖ Perception that mass timber construction will further increase unemployment rate

❖ Education and Training

❖ Shortage of experience and skills relating to timber construction, mediocre
promotion of mass timber building strategies, lack of tertiary courses
❖ Australia and New Zealand: lack of local skills in design and construction
❖ General issue in South Africa and even the USA and Europe
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 Discussion of Results – Main
Inhibitors for Timber Construction
❖ Financial Viability
❖ See-saw between benefit and limitation
❖ Larger upfront spend than traditional building
❖ Two articles found CLT construction to be costlier vs reinforced concrete building
❖ Acquisition of building materials for timber construction → high cost
❖ Monopolization of timber industry may also be an issue
❖ Savings may be realized during operation of multi-storey timber building
❖ Building Codes
❖ Review of Ascent building in Milwaukee:
❖ Difference in design codes of USA and Europe → complication in material import
❖ Testing standard consensus for compliance in import/export material
❖ North America and Europe – lack of testing standards is an issue
❖ New Zealand – Limited support from building codes
❖ Higher design costs and difficulty for compliance 19
 Discussion of Results – Main
Inhibitors for Timber Construction
❖ Building Codes
❖ Rapid adoption of mass timber structures
❖ Policies becoming more accommodating
❖ Traditional codes are increasing compatibility with timber

20
Discussion of Results – Innovations
and Solutions
❖ Durability
❖ Technologies enhancing airtightness
❖ Cover joints with bitumen or tape
❖ Sealing products used between elements
❖ Airtight membrane wall coves
❖ Extruded polystyrene for thermal insulation – safe from moisture decay
❖ Prevention of base wood dampness
❖ Extruded aluminum billet in foundation fixed to concrete slab using anchors
❖ CLT panels may be fastened on top of billet → confirmed load-bearing for two- to three-
storey structures
❖ Copper Chrome Arsenic (CCA) treatments to extend durable life
❖ Disadvantage: health and environmental concerns

21
Discussion of Results – Innovations
and Solutions
❖ Timber Recycling
❖ Wood-plastic composites (60% biomass, pressed at 180°C for 30 min)
❖ Low-cost product → alien trees and recycled polyethene in South Africa
❖ Tested for use in low-cost housing as cladding and ceilings
❖ No additives and minimal processing
❖ Suitable for non-structural interior applications (including high humidity areas)
❖ Demolition wood from oak-house
❖ CLT panels fashioned from: recycled wood, new wood and a combination
❖ Recovered wood → high knottiness – lower bending strength
❖ Met certain structural application requirements
❖ Require larger scale experiment to verify results

❖ Resource Availability
❖ Understanding of tree farming and factors affected carbon sequestration
❖ Degree of afforestation required and sustainable management of forests
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❖ Reduced impact logging, forest certification, DNA tracking
Discussion of Results – Innovations
and Solutions
❖ Resource availability
❖ Reduced impact logging: strategic and professional tree harvesting
❖ Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal, South Africa:
❖ Afforestation land available → 1 million 𝑚3 of sawlog timber in 24 years
❖ Western Cape, South Africa
❖ Coastal area for dryland forestry
❖ Green-gluing
❖ Gluing of wet, unseasoned lumber
❖ Green-gluing of young eucalypt planks in South Africa → positive results
❖ Edge-bonded eucalypt wood as an alternative to structural timber

❖ Hybrid building
❖ High frequency oscillating/linear friction welding
❖ Carbon fibers to reinforce timber and increase resilience
❖ Hybrid timber steel structure → possible solution for limited wood resources
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Discussion of Results – Innovations
and Solutions
❖ Hybrid building
❖ Hybrid LVL in steel car body parts – minor success, can be optimized
❖ Europe:
❖ Need for affordable housing and building linked with green building awareness
❖ Led to prefabrication and lean timber production
❖ Demand for schools in UK → proposed prefabricated school structures

❖ Fire performance:
❖ Non-combustible timber wall linings (example: drywall)
❖ Thicker timber lamella for CLT → thicker char layer
❖ Melamine-based fire-resistant adhesives → limit delamination during a fire
❖ Further research: thermal deterioration of adhesives
❖ Public knowledge and perception
❖ Promote successful mass timber structures, marketing strategies
❖ Share environmental benefits, debunk safety concerns 24
Discussion of Results – Innovations
and Solutions
❖ Education and training
❖ Knowledge sharing between professionals in the design and construction sectors
❖ Increase awareness of available technologies may increase faith and investment
❖ Government intervention to inspire buy-in from companies
❖ Adapting building codes/ creating technical, design and material standards
❖ Financial support of greener building solutions and encourage development of skills
❖ Incentive programs favoring green building

25
 Conclusion

❖ Literature illustrated inhibitors solved through rapid innovation and proposed

solutions
❖ Timber construction is still not commonplace in South Africa
❖ Inhibitors such as financial viability and building codes still barrier
❖ Public perception and skills one of the largest barriers
❖ Inadequate incentives, funding, training programs, information sharing
❖ Public opinion factors: age, interests, demography
❖ Limitations
❖ Single database for literature search
❖ Limited literature available in South African context
❖ Focus on prominent topics → limit scope and depth of study

26
 Conclusion

❖ Further research areas

❖ Structural timber for low-cost homes and schools
❖ Comparison between single-family timber homes and traditional homes in the
context of average South African income
❖ Green-glued eucalyptus wood as CLT
❖ Investigation into environmental impact of high-demand adhesive production
❖ Survey of industry professionals to establish position of South African timber
industry
❖ Evaluation of product diffusion strategies for MTC

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 ?

Questions?

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