STRUCTURAL TIMBER ASSOCIATION HOSTS NEW EVENT FOR ARCHITECTS AT RIBA LONDON

The Structural Timber Association (STA) has announced a new, free event ‘Navigating Structural Timber Construction to Address Net Zero’, taking place on the 2nd of July 2024 at RIBA’s London headquarters.

Aimed at architects and structural engineers, the event features high-profile speakers from organisations including RIBA, Waugh Thistleton, Tate + Co and dRMM Studio. The event will give delegates the chance to discover how their industry peers are transitioning to using more timber, with a focus on sharing best practice advice.

Chaired by Andrew Carpenter, the Chief Executive of the STA, the event will begin with the current positioning regarding the Government’s Timber in Construction (TiC) Policy Roadmap and what this means for the future of construction in the UK. Following this, a panel of experts will provide an overview of their experience in working with structural timber: sharing insights through relevant case studies, and how crucially, structural timber can addresse the challenges of attaining net zero.

The panel consists of: Alex de Rijke Founding Director of dRMM Studio; Anthony Thistleton, Founder and Director of Waugh Thistleton; Jerry Tate, Director of Tate + Co Architects, Rory Bergin, Partner Sustainable Futures at HTA Design LLP; Jess Hrivnak, Practice Technical Adviser (Sustainability) at RIBA; and Chris Gaze, Sustainability Consultant at the STA.

The TiC Roadmap is a clear signal of the Government’s intention to use timber as a key means of achieving Net Zero by 2050. The event is designed to support architects in understanding how to use timber and signposting to the technical advice and resources the STA can provide.

Chief Executive Andrew Carpenter noted the importance of the event, commenting: “We are thrilled to be hosting such an informative event at RIBA’s headquarters in London. The TiC Roadmap will have far reaching impacts for the industry, so we’re looking forward to connecting with architects to support their ambitions to use more timber.”

The event runs from 9.00am to 12 noon (registration from 8.00am) and will be held at RIBA’s London Headquarters: 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD.

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Editors notes

£10billion gross value was added to the UK economy by the timber industry, and the sector employs over 300,000 people across 51,000 businesses

As the leading authority for structural timber build systems, the Structural Timber Association (STA) is recognised for their technical excellence, superior knowledge and leading standards. With over 950 members, the STA is the UK’s leading organisation representing the structural timber sector, a sector now valued at over £1billion, and associated supply chain companies.

Their mission is to support and facilitate the UK construction industry to increase the use of structural timber across housing, public sector and commercial sectors, contributing to the housing targets of 300,00 per year, while delivering value and increased build quality, through fast, sustainable, low carbon construction. Over the past 5 years 198,429 timber frame homes have been built in the UK, a number which the STA seeks to increase in line with housing targets. 

The STA actively work to promote structural timber through innovation and accreditation while raising the bar on quality standards, health and safety, skills training and technical knowledge. Their goal is to drive increased use of MMC and offsite manufacture for the benefit of all stakeholders. Additionally, the STA works to influence legislation and regulation, and support the objectives of the structural timber sector as a whole. Having played a key role in the Government’s Timber in Construction Policy Roadmap development, the STA continues to spearhead its implementation.

STA Assure is the STA’s Quality Assurance Scheme that provides confidence in the use of structural timber and determines member competency and compliance, providing solid reassurances to the construction community that its members meet or exceed current legislation and regulatory requirements.

For more information, visit: www.structuraltimber.co.uk