I remember as a child reading about environmentally friendly "houses of the future". The latest take on that is currently on display at COP 26. Of course, the house is of wooden construction, with the timber capturing significant amounts of CO2 during the growth of the trees. However, I was interested to read in this article that the timber used in this "house of the future" uses materials technology to enhance even traditional timber building techniques.
Apparently, Scottish wood is considered weak for construction due to the wet and fast growing environment. As a result, despite Scotland having extensive forestry, much wood for house building in Scotland is imported from Scandinavia. However, cross-laminated timber techniques have been applied to allow some sizable buildings to be made from Scottish timber, thereby saving the carbon and financial costs associated with trucking and shipping timber from Scandinavia.
It just goes to show that new technology can enhance even the most traditional of techniques.
Innovation in the materials for such homes is on show during COP26 at the Glasgow Landing site, where the COP House can be found, and at the factory in Hamilton which is home to the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre
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