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The Minister was taken for a
tour of the exemplary fully engineered timber building, which is owned by The
Office Group (TOG), the premium flexible workspace provider with a platform of
more than 50 buildings across the UK and Germany and will be the tallest timber
office structure in London when complete later this year.
Boasting a powerful sustainable agenda, the hybrid structure comprising beech Laminated Veneer Lumbar (LVL) frame with Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) has resulted in 37% less embodied carbon than an equivalent structure built using steel or concrete, demonstrating how a shift towards the use of biogenic materials in construction could help the industry to significantly reduce its impact on the environment.
Following its release of the Build Back
Greener Strategy Document, the Government has signalled a clear
intent to increase the use of sustainable materials, such as timber, within
construction as it seeks to meet its Net Zero obligations.
Key to the success of this endeavour, is increasing the awareness and knowledge of structural timber. As such, the CTI is actively engaging with the Government and other stakeholders via the Timber in Construction working group, set up to develop a policy roadmap to help the Government deliver on its environmental ambitions.
Speaking on the visit is
Andrew Carpenter, Director at the Confederation of Timber Industries: "Independent
bodies such as the Climate Change Committee have already said that increasing
the use of timber within construction is crucial to achieving net zero status
by 2050, because of the low-carbon benefits of these forms of construction.
"The sustainable benefits of timber as a form of carbon capture and storage are widely known, and today has been about illustrating how these benefits are already being delivered safely across the UK, as well as globally, to create a new wave of low-carbon construction.
"In partnership with the UK
Government via the Timber in Construction Working Group, and together with
members of Parliament through our APPG for the Timber Industries, we are
helping bring forwards the benefits of greater use of structural timber."
Construction Minister Lee
Rowley commented: "It was fantastic to visit the Black and White building to
see how this innovative approach to building, harnessing engineered timber, is
helping to drive sustainability in the construction sector.
"The site's construction is an
excellent example of the benefits timber buildings can bring and I look forward
to seeing it when it is complete and in operation."
Andrew Waugh, Founder and
Director at Waugh Thistleton Architects, commented: "It's great to see the Government
taking an interest in engineered timber construction. We need Government
leadership and systemic support for the use of regenerative, low carbon
construction materials if we are to have any chance of reducing the impact of
our industry on the planet."
Charlie Green, co-Founder and
co-CEO of TOG commented: "The Black and White Building is set to be Central
London's tallest mass timber office building. Alongside Waugh Thistleton, we
have worked to reduce embodied carbon as much as possible, delivering a
building that represents what future workspaces should be.
"It has never been more
important to develop techniques and approaches that deliver buildings for a
better world. Innovative construction processes and sustainable materials, like
those employed here, will form a central part of the sector's journey to net
zero over the coming years.
"We're really pleased that Lee
Rowley, MP, visited the site today to see this evolution in practice and look
forward to further engagement."
For more information on the Confederation of Timber Industries, please visit: www.cti-timber.org.
For more information on the Waugh-Thistleton, please visit https://waughthistleton.com/
