Architect: We should be building out of sunshine
Architect: We should be building out of
sunshine
“Imagine a building made of sky”,
says Bruce King, a Californian architect and author of a new
book entitled “The New Carbon Architecture”, due to be
released soon. And we are already. Australia’s top
developers are leading the way with timber buildings for
midrise construction. The wood-based designs are better,
faster and more user-friendly than those made of traditional
materials. A conference with wide appeal on commercial
timber is coming to New Zealand soon.
King’s new book
is due out later in 2017. Titled ‘The New Carbon
Architecture, Building Out of Sky’ - he means using
building using materials that come from the sky. Carbon from
the CO2 in the air, sunlight and water, which, through
photosynthesis, grow plants we can process into building
materials.
“For the first time in history, we can
build pretty much anything out of carbon that we coaxed from
the air. All of these emerging technologies - and more -
arrive in tandem with the growing understanding that the
so-called embodied carbon of building materials matters a
great deal more than anyone thought in the fight to halt and
reverse climate change”, says King.
Keynote
speakers from Canada and Australia will deliver
presentations on how this vision is already becoming a
reality in their countries, at a national conference
in Rotorua on 28th September. Entitled
“Advantages of Timber in Mid-Rise Construction,” this
second annual conference continues to attract architects,
developers, engineers, specifiers, plus building officials
and owners.
Conference organiser John Stulen says,
“Australian companies are moving ahead of their New
Zealand counterparts in commercial building. Their key
advantages come from using engineered wood. This emerging
trend in new commercial buildings is not just economical but
also environmentally friendly. It’s now clear that wood
structures are giving industry leaders an edge over
traditional materials in many ways.”
Stulen
explains the inspiration for this conference came from
Rotorua’s mayor Steve Chadwick when she championed the
council’s ‘Wood-First’ policy.
“Rotorua’s
economy is built on wood. Adding value by engineering the
resource for commercial building is a ‘win-win’ for
everyone in the supply chain. Thanks to the mayor’s vision
and enthusiasm this wood-first conference series was born.
So, the Rotorua Lakes Council is a natural partner for
us,” Stulen says.
The conference is set to be part
of a week of events on wood technology coming to the city in
September, including FIEA’s WoodTECH 2017, a two-day
conference and trade expo. Stulen said they have also
partnered several key national wood industry groups to make
this happen.
Information
links:
Changing Perceptions Conference –
Advantages of Timber in Mid-Rise Construction – 28th
September in Rotorua: www.cpetc2017.com
WoodTECH 2017
Conference – Wood Scanning, Sawing, Optimisation: www.woodtech.events
About the book
– The New Carbon Architecture: https://www.ecobuildnetwork.org/projects/new-carbon-architecture
Building
out of sunshine: https://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/why-we-should-be-building-out-sunlight.html
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