Simon Velez: mastering bamboo

Colombian architect Simon Velez is currently the subject of a book and a delightful exhibition in and around the tiny Swiss village of Rossiniere, in canton Vaud. Velez has come to international attention through his buildings of guadua bamboo, and in particular the massive bamboo pavilion constructed for Expo 2000 in Hannover. The 'Learning from Vernacular' website has further details, including a rather slow-to-load image gallery, and we will be buying the book for GSA library in due course.

http://learning-from-vernacular.epfl.ch/cms/lang/en/pid/94131

Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA)

The TRADA trade association is a long-established centre of excellence on the specification and use of timber and wood products. I was reminded yesterday that even for non-members, a considerable quantity of useful design and detail information is freely available to download from the 'library' part of their website, following a simple registration process.

The Lighthouse - Natural Factory Exhibition

This exhibition showcases the past, current and future uses of indigenous Scottish timber – from tree to paper - but in particular the potential to use timber as a building material. It is the first in a series exhibitions investigating sustainable construction products, which will ultimately form the core of the Scottish Government funded Sustainable Materials Library. The exhibition and the resultant Library will operate on a number of levels, and should appeal to young people, the public and professionals alike – whether as a resource for school and student projects, for those building or upgrading their homes or for designers working on large scale architectural projects.

The Lighthouse (11 Mitchell Lane, G1 3NU) exhibitions are free to the public and subject to opening times listed on the website. For enquiries phone: The Lighthouse Reception: 0141 276 5365

The Green agenda – Timber technology

Currently timber is enjoying renewed popularity as a building material because it is carbon-neutral, a good thermal insulator, structurally strong and has the look and feel of a natural resource. If one product encapsulates the current vogue for wood in buildings it is cross-laminated timber (CLT). This structural plywood can be produced up to 27 layers and in panel sizes up to 3m long. The great appeal of CLT is that it is an all-in-one material that can be used as structure, fabric and finish. CLT is invariably produced by, market experts in Austria, Germany and Switzerland (included is a link to German company, Binderholz Bausysteme catalogue which details technical data, characteristic values and various ready made constructions). Despite the continental production, UK architects have been pushing the boundaries of CLT application in projects such as the Woodland Trust headquarters in Grantham and Sainsbury’s in Darmouth.

Access : free