HOLISTIC DESIGN OF TALLER TIMBER BUILDINGS – COST ACTION HELEN (CA20139)

With the worldwide construction sector being responsible for one third of carbon dioxide emissions, as well as forty percent of the world’s energy use and waste production, a shift to sustainable and renewable construction techniques is crucial. Engineered timber, a champion of sustainable construction materials, has evolved to a stage that enables the construction of not only family housing but also taller buildings so far commonly built from concrete or steel. Designing taller timber buildings made is more demanding than their concrete and steel counterparts. Whereas different design aspects (architectural, structural, fire safety, acoustics, etc.) of concrete buildings can work almost independently, the design of taller timber buildings should be performed with intensive collaboration among the design teams. It is therefore crucial to address taller multi-storey timber buildings from a collaborative and interdisciplinary perspective, considering static, dynamic, fire, acoustic, human health, and other aspects in parallel and not in isolation. Only through interdisciplinary analysis and interaction can a set of holistic design guidelines be developed that will enable the safe construction of taller timber buildings, as well as respect human wellbeing demands. In this paper, the COST Action CA20139 will be presented and the main aims will be discussed.