TIMBER FOR SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

There is a growing trend for using timber in the construction of high-rise buildings, driven by the need for more sustainable construction methods that reduce carbon footprints and enhance environmental resilience. In South Africa, examples of timber construction include a learning centre in the Drakensberg and the Green Point education dome in Cape Town.

South Africa’s farmed trees are planted, harvested and replanted for the purpose of making sawn timber, pulp and paper products, building and agricultural poles, amongst other things. When a harvested tree is made into a solid wood product or pulp for paper, the carbon remains locked up in those products. When the land is replanted with new trees, the carbon cycle begins all over again. Some 0.9 tonnes of carbon are stored by one cubic metre of wood throughout its lifetime; this is why the procurement of renewable, sustainably produced wood by the construction sector holds the greatest potential for climate change mitigation.

South Africa has traditionally relied on brick and mortar for building, but this is slowly starting to shift, and architects are looking to the forestry sector for carbon-neutral and renewable options. Timber competes well with concrete and steel in that it offers strength, can withstand seismic activity and is much lighter to transport. It is being used with concrete cores to create hybrid buildings.

In South Africa, it could address the housing crisis as it is light, easy to transport and easily assembled. Timber frame homes can be mass produced in panel form, transported to site and put together by a construction team; this in turn provides an opportunity for upskilling and job creation.

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