Built by Nature

Built by Nature is encouraged to see how Optoppen: building up with timber is generating media interest, with Kelly Harrison from Whitby Wood in the article below serving as a credible, convincing proponent. Optoppen, or topping up, increases the usable space in an existing building through lightweight timber roof extensions, supporting both urban decarbonisation targets and densification strategies. Built by Nature is proud to have provided funding to a UK, Dutch and Spanish consortium toward advancing awareness and knowledge of this timber-based innovation in construction -- full details of the announcement and the partners involved can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dceX5twh #masstimberconstruction #housing #decarbonisation

Built by Nature is pleased to share this announcement: the completion of one of the largest timber-hybrid offices in Europe: DPG Media Nederland's new headquarters, Mediavaert, in Amsterdam-Duivendrecht. This innovative. low-carbon 44,700 m² media hub, home base for newspapers, magazines, and radio stations, features flexible work areas, brainstorming zones, recording studios, restaurants, a coffee bar, and an event space. Do Janne Vermeulen, architect/director of Built by Nature Frontrunner Team V Architectuur said, “This new media building for DPG Media shows that you can create a very special building with a sustainable timber construction: focused on health, green, and daylight. In this case, the choice for a timber-hybrid construction contributes to a sustainable building, a faster construction period, and a special, healthy, comfortable workplace. It is therefore an extremely good example of integral sustainability.” “With this project we have achieved a high level of sustainability, well-being, and innovation, and we are extremely proud of what we have achieved. Mediavaert can rightly be called an office of the future," according to Dirk Dekker, co-founder and owner of Being, project developer. "We hope to inspire others to make the choice for sustainability, so that timber-hybrid construction on this scale will no longer be the exception, but the norm.” Other partners involved in Mediavaert include DELVA Landscape Architecture / Urbanism, Arup, and DGMR, and constructed by BESIX Netherlands -- all collaborating to set new standards for sustainable, innovative, and future-ready office spaces. Photo credit: Ossip van Duivenbode #SustainableArchitecture #TimberHybrid #Innovation #GreenBuilding #FutureOfWork #DPGMedia #Mediavaert

There's been coverage in the national media lately about how the UK's newly elected Labour government might deliver on its pledge to build 1.5 million new homes. Here, in the Letters section of The Guardian, timber advocate and former MEP Paul Brannen makes the case for the Optoppen: building up with timber movement, whereby the process of construction on top of existing buildings using strong but lightweight timber has the potential to deliver an estimated 41,000 rooftop homes in central London, 66,000 additional homes in the Netherlands and 2,500 homes in Barcelona alone. In December 2023, Built by Nature awarded funding to a UK, Dutch and Spanish consortium (led by engineering consultancy Whitby Wood, with partners Mule Studio, New Urban Networks EU, Holland Houtland, Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, Creative City Solutions, and Rising Tide) toward development of an open-source knowledge and technical information platform to raise awareness and understanding of how Optoppen can unlock much-needed floor area, create new carbon stores, and keep construction emissions to a minimum. Read more about our Optoppen funding here: https://lnkd.in/dceX5twh, and you'll find Paul Brannen's letter to the Guardian below. #optoppen #decarbonisation #masstimberconstruction #housing

Construction-stored carbon (CSC) valuation is gaining serious consideration in the real estate industry and among policymakers at various levels as a potential incentive for using timber and biobased materials over carbon-intensive ones. CSC adoption, however, is still in its early stages, with many questions and controversies around carbon offsetting. In this webinar, with Built by Nature hosts Mona Menadi and Joe Giddings, we provide a bit of a deep-dive: 🎙 Sacha Brons, Head of Construction Stored Carbon at the Climate Cleanup Foundation, examines the opportunities and challenges of CSC valuation, from both policy and practical perspectives. 🎙 The EU Carbon Removals Certification Framework is reviewed with key questions addressed by Sevim Aktas, Policy Officer at European Commission DG CLIMA. 🎙 Rosa Bos, Developer at Ballast Nedam, describes the practicalities of their CSC in the Natuurhuizen project in Heeze, Netherlands 🎙 Laurence Desmazières, Managing Partner at ICAWOOD, on the Label Bas Carbone in France 🎙 The concluding panel discussion features Steph Carlisle from the Carbon Leadership Forum, exploring the economic and governance aspects of these projects, and Frank Vasek, Head of Carbon Solutions at Timber Finance.   Huge appreciation to all of our speakers and panelists, and a special thanks to all who joined live. This is helpful knowledge in understanding all tools and incentives available toward decarbonisation of our built environment. Explore the resources and watch again the webinar: https://lnkd.in/eBcKDEVN   #Sustainability #CarbonStorage #TimberConstruction #RealEstate #ClimateAction #CarbonOffsetting #Policy #SustainableDevelopment #CSC #Webinar

Congratulations -- once again -- to Built by Nature Frontrunner Waugh Thistleton Architects, who have secured a RIBA National Award (plus a RIBA London Award 2024) for their iconic Black & White Building in London's Shoreditch area. This is the tallest engineered timber office building in central London, designed with the belief that: "...genuinely sustainable architecture can be born out of restraint. Timber is the key component. By combining ancient construction methods with digital technology, every element was designed to be as efficient as possible. Inside, the tones and textures of the materials captivate the senses." And of course, it takes a visionary client to realise such a bold statement in timber -- which means congratulations are similarly in order to The Office Group who have been awarded 2024 RIBA London Client of the Year. #masstimber #biobasedmaterials #sustainablearchitecture

Sharing this post from Woodknowledge Wales as terrific follow-up to last week's #WoodBUILD2024 conference in Swansea. According to Built by Nature CEO Paul King, who had the privilege of delivering a keynote address to those in attendance: "Wood BUILD brought together everyone across the forest - building value chain and with a Welsh government committed to a Timber Industrial Strategy, highlighted the opportunity to build homes that are affordable for people and the planet." Congratulations to Woodknowledge Wales, and to all those participants advancing the possibilities of a vibrant, sustainable bioeconomy in Wales! #forestry #biobasedmaterials #timberconstruction

Here's a great opportunity to get to know Built by Nature Dutch network Lead, Peter Fraanje. From his childhood growing up "among the wood shavings" (his ancestral family were wagon makers in Zeeland) to his academic background in forestry and land development and then environmental sciences, on to kick-starting his career as an environmental researcher in construction, Peter has focused his knowledge and passion towards the responsible, circular use of wood in construction. In 1999 Peter published a book about building with 33 different types of native wood species: "Natuurlijk Bouwen met Hout", after receiving his PhD from the University of Amsterdam on the application of biobased materials in construction. According to Peter and his role with Built by Nature, “We want to strengthen and accelerate timber construction, so that economies of scale are optimally utilised, because building with cross-laminated timber (CLT) is the answer to the housing shortage and the growing climate crisis.” Peter has an interesting history with CLT: "I showed a few years ago how much potential timber construction and in particular CLT construction has as a storage place for CO2... In practice, each wooden beam can have up to seven lives; during all that time, the CO2 is safely stored and for each beam that you reuse, a tree can be saved.” His is a fascinating story, and we're very fortunate to have someone with Peter's background, knowledge and stature leading our network activities in the Netherlands. The article below is in Dutch, but will easily convert to English. #Masstimber #timberconstruction #biobasedmaterials #carbonstorage #CLT

Last week, Built by Nature teamed up with our Spanish colleagues MASS MADERA Built-by-nature to sponsor an important two-day event at La Casa de la Arquitectura in Madrid, dedicated to advancing the adoption of mass timber and engineered wood in construction. Organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Agenda, and promoted by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC), the event kicked off with opening remarks from Iñaqui Carnicero, General Secretary of the Ministry, highlighting timber's critical role in addressing decarbonisation and industrialisation challenges within the construction sector. Daniel Ibañez, Director of IAAC, provided a comprehensive overview of the current landscape of timber construction in Spain, setting the stage for six insightful roundtable discussions. These roundtables delved into essential topics such as the competitiveness of the timber sector, technical regulations, real estate implications, professional training, design considerations, and public policies to foster the use of engineered wood. Experts, professionals, and stakeholders engaged in dynamic debates on sustainable forest management, economic viability, and regulatory challenges. Participants explored the potential of public procurement to drive demand for mass timber, spotlighting opportunities for innovation and sustainable urban development. The sessions featured distinguished experts from Lignum Tech, JV Forest, xilonor, ONESTA, Grup Boix, PEFC ESPAÑA, IMHAB, FUSTA, PEMADE, AITIM, MIVAU, NASUVINSA, XERA Agency for forest-based industry, Instituto Valenciano de la Edificación (IVE), Lugo City Council, FH Vienna, Cesefor, University of the Basque Country, CESUGA - Centro de Estudios Superiores Universitarios de Galicia, ETSA Madera, ESTAM, SUMA ARKITEKTUR LIMITED, Urbanitree, EXIT architects, sAtt Architecture, BRYAXIS architects, and AEDAS Homes. Vicente Guallart of IAAC and Isabel Marcos from MIVAU concluded the event with closing remarks, emphasising the importance of collaborative efforts in propelling mass timber into mainstream construction practices. The engagement of participants during this event illustrates the critical role of our networks, industry leaders and government in advancing sustainable building solutions. #sustainableconstruction #timberarchitecture #masstimber #circulareconomy #constructioninnovation

Built by Nature is delighted to present our Progress Report for 2023, covering our activities up to December 31 and our momentum in attracting industry Frontrunners to our movement, entering new markets and realising positive impact across key programmatic areas. Geographic expansion is described in CEO Paul King's introduction: "The second year of Built by Nature was characterised by growth, as our network in the UK grew and strengthened, as did our MASS MADERA Built-by-nature network in Spain. We launched our network in the Netherlands and identified the Green Building Council Italia as our partner to lead a future presence in Italy. We also began scoping new opportunities in France and Germany." 2023 highlights include: 👏 86 Frontrunner organisations in our network, up from 21 previously 👏 €1.62 million awarded in grants across 14 projects in 5 countries from the Built by Nature Fund 👏 Launch of the Built by Nature Prize -- the world's first initiative to recognise and stimulate innovation in biobased construction materials. We provide detail on each of our network's activities in the UK, the Netherlands and Spain. Importantly, our ability to connect industry leaders helps to identify priority barriers, which in turn has sparked collaborations both within and across our national networks. Increasingly, we have Pan-European project teams forming to confront barriers, which in turn stimulates solution-oriented grant applications to the Built by Nature Fund, several of which we've highlighted in the Report. We are now beginning to see the outputs and early impacts of our grant funding with new knowledge and guidance being created. Since launch, the Built by Nature Fund has supported: 👉 Geographic expansion 👉 Creation and dissemination of new knowledge and guidance on mass timber usage in commercial projects (such as the New Model Building; Mass Timber Insurance Playbook; Commercial Timber Buildings Guidebook; Impact scan for timber construction in Europe) 👉 Research to identify and confront misperception and build awareness of biobased benefits: studies into water, moisture, fire, insurance, occupant wellbeing. We are also encouraged by the regulatory and policy momentum around the use of sustainable timber and we invite you to read the examples of how our national network presence and activity in 2023 have realised impact in this critical realm. Buit by Nature Board Chair Don Brenninkmeijer has commented on our future direction: "As we look ahead, we will continue exploring our role in supporting the supply side of the forest and biobased economy value chains, as well as how we can effectively share and amplify our collective learnings and practices through new partnerships and grant-funded opportunities. We have much to look forward to..." Enjoy the read! The link to our Progress Report can be found here: https://lnkd.in/gC5BvDdk #progressreport #networks #masstimber #biobasedconstruction

Good media coverage here on the resurgence of timber in urban architecture, highlighting the environmental, wellbeing and aesthetic benefits of mass timber construction and featuring the leadership of Built by Nature Frontrunners: The Black & White Building, designed by Waugh Thistleton Architects -- London's tallest mass timber office in Shoreditch, and the Paradise SE11 project, Bywater Properties’ six-storey, 63,400 sq ft timber office, currently under construction in Vauxhall... two examples of how the material is being successfully and visibly deployed in the UK capital. There's insightful commentary from Bywater co-founder and COO Theodore Michell in addressing insurability: "In our experience, the process has been complicated and technical, but not insurmountable. It has been more intensive and expensive than we would normally expect for a conventional building. But, in our judgment, not markedly. And certainly not to the point that the project is not is not viable." The wellbeing benefits to building occupants are also presented, and nice visuals support the architectural possibilities of desinging for mass timber. #masstimber #timberconstruction #biophilicdesign #decarbonisation