New StructureCraft Plant

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

An all wood prefabricated industrial building erected in five days. Featuring stepped glulam belly beams and a timber diaphragm spanning 100m, this is a cost effective facility housing a more efficient manufacturing centre for the client’s new Dowel Laminated Timber mass timber product and reflecting the philosophy of the company in both the choice of materials and the construction techniques.

Judge's comment:

This all wood prefabricated building demonstrates the use of structural timber as a cost and time efficient alternative to the steel and concrete buildings that are more typical of the industrial building typology.

The project is a case study of modern timber construction methods, with different approaches to construction used in best response to the varying demands of each part of the build. Super lightweight insulated timber panels create the building skin and provide support to the roof and gantry cranes, whilst nail laminated mass timber floor and roof panels were created for the office spaces with fully integrated acoustic absorption to avoid the need for ceilings.

Tremendous energy went into working out how to capitalise on the prefabrication of the building and minimise construction time. All elements of the building were pre-assembled off-site, including the full structural and architectural build-ups necessary to enclose the shop building and adjacent office space. Through the design team’s painstaking efforts to rationalise the prefabricated elements, both the fabrication and erection processes were exemplary in terms of speed and efficiency.

Through this fully integrated approach to design and prefabrication, the 4200m² shop structure was built in a phenomenal timescale of just five days, with each 70m² roof panel taking as little as 10 minutes to erect.