By Sam Hart, Associate Director of MMC and Manufacturing – BE-ST
How do we change the long-standing cultural misperception around building with Scottish timber? This is the question we have been trying to answer for the last ten years with our partners. Tired of hearing people say UK-grown timber is not as strong as European timber, that there are too many knots to be aesthetically pleasing, or that it’s not a safe enough building material because it burns, we wanted to prove that it could be, and how it could be, used safely as a high-value construction method.
At the end of April we launched the Mass Timber Centre of Excellence. If we’re looking for a sign of progress that perspectives are changing, this could be it.
The launch of the Centre is a testament to a ten-year journey taken by BE-ST, Edinburgh Napier University, and strategic industry partners to invest in wood and timber research and to validate mass timber as a high-value construction method. Currently, we are limited in what we can do with multistorey mass timber construction as building regulations guidance discourages or prevents the use of combustible materials in buildings over 11 metres in Scotland and 18 meters in England due to fire safety concerns. This is despite other countries, such as Canada, Norway, and more, building to heights of 40 metres and beyond.
Extensive global research has explored and demonstrated that mass timber can achieve adequate safety in structures beyond these heights when designed, manufactured, and constructed with due consideration given to the relevant concerns. In our current Built by Nature research project, we are working alongside the Edinburgh Fire Research Centre at the University of Edinburgh to compile this research, identify any gaps, and establish the views and understanding of a broad selection of UK built environment stakeholders. This evidence will directly support multiple workstreams that are advancing the UK Government’s recently published Timber in Construction Roadmap 2025 which promotes (among other things) the safe, sustainable use of timber as a construction material. It will also support the necessary changes to help solve many of the built environment’s challenges, from lowering carbon emissions to delivering much needed public infrastructure. BE-ST has been involved in the shaping of the roadmap from its inception.
Is mass timber a viable solution?
Mass timber might not be the most viable solution for delivering traditional housing as creating solid floor, wall, and roof panels uses more timber than the highly efficient timber framing construction method. However, mass timber is particularly suited to multi-story projects or non-domestic buildings that have requirements for large, clear spans, dimensional stability, or high racking resistance. This means it could be a key solution to lowering the carbon emissions of the construction sector and delivering high quality, efficient, sustainable and more affordable multi-storey building such as schools or hospitals.
A key milestone on our journey to validating the applications of UK-grown mass timber construction use was the founding of Transforming Timber – a collaborative knowledge hub promoting the use of homegrown mass timber. Transforming Timber is dedicated to making the business case for mass timber, to make it the first-choice material for specifiers, designers and contractors and as a result, contributing towards a sustainable society and a thriving forestry industry.
Transforming Timber was established through a £1.5m Innovate UK-funded programme and delivered by BE-ST, Edinburgh Napier University, NMITE, Ecosystems Technologies, University of Edinburgh, and BSW Timber. This work has provided a foundation that means that Edinburgh Napier University and BE-ST are now further investing in the Mass Timber Centre of Excellence with a validated proposition to provide the sector with resources and support for mass timber innovation, manufacturing and skills. The Centre has launched to support the transformation of built environment delivery and increase the use of mass timber in construction through commercially available equipment and facilities, as well as expertise, research and skills training.
What has Be-ST achieved?
Through ten years as an innovation centre focussed on changing perspectives and validating the use of homegrown mass timber, we have also invested in partnerships and projects that have delivered real tangible economic, environmental and social benefits. BE-ST has supported the creation of 5,356 jobs, many of which have been in timber-related sectors, including over 40 created at Ecosystems Technologies, a sustainable and natural material offsite manufacturer in Invergordon. We have also procured a further £1.5m of commercially available equipment that has supported businesses like Ecosystems Technologies to double in value year on year and to deliver high-quality, sustainable housing and schools across the UK. This equipment will significantly increase Ecosystems Technologies’ manufacturing capacity and support their delivery of pipeline projects, which are already programmed through into Q3 2026.
When we take a step back, a key part of our success has been working with our partners since we began in 2014 to build momentum for homegrown mass timber manufacturing in UK.
We want the Mass Timber Centre of Excellence to build on this at scale and pace, for it to be the breeding ground for the timber and forestry sector, where it can access the benefits that come with investing in and building mass timber and the supply chain, and for Scotland’s people and economy to reap the benefits.
Find out more about the Mass Timber Centre of Excellence:
https://www.be-st.build/news/mass-timber-centre-of-excellence-launches-at-be-st-campus
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