Artelia launches new Timber Resource Centre

Timber buildings are shooting up all over Denmark, and it has been a political priority to boost the development in order to promote the use of sustainable construction materials. Over the past 20 years, Artelia has been involved in constructing 65,000 m² of timber buildings and this experience will now be put to use in our new interdisciplinary resource centre.

“We have put together a team of different specialists, who all are extremely interested in timber and represent the different trades that have a play an important role in the creation of successful timber constructions. There is a clear demand for advice on the resolution of the typical challenges, and in this context we can offer the industry a comprehensive platform. With the association Træ i Byggeriet as a partner, we are also gaining access to the suppliers’ expertise,” says Dagmar Øye, the knowledge centre’s project manager.

The team comprises specialists in the fields of fire prevention, acoustics, indoor climate, cost management, sustainability and, naturally, timber construction. The knowledge centre will at the same time ensure state-of-the-art knowledge is brought to light. For example, Artelia has developed new expertise in the field of healthy construction through innovation projects such as Realdani’s ‘Healthy Homes’, and in this context many new discoveries relevant to timber construction have been made.

The president of Træ i Byggeriet and CEO of Taasinge Elementer, Martin Tholstrup, is looking forward to the collaboration:

“I’m delighted in every conceivable way, and there is such a big need. The government’s climate objective is crystal clear, and replacing less environmentally friendly construction materials with wood has an effect we can all grasp. Developing the industry’s knowledge and experience around timber construction means we all need to share our knowledge, making it important to offer the market and the industry wide-ranging professional understanding that can ensure excellent and well-thought-out solutions. A knowledge centre at Artelia, as one of the country’s most experienced providers of advice in the field, is without a doubt the best thing imaginable – for the industry, the developer and, not least, the climate …”

Lisbjerg Bakke, where Artelia provided the engineering consultancy. Photo: Helene Høyer Mikkelsen

Solid experience
The engineering company’s experience in the field derives in part from the blocks of flats at Lisbjerg Bakke, which in 2018 were selected as Building of the Year and have in general become a groundbreaking project for 3- to 4-storey timber construction in Denmark.

“The name of the project was Sustainable Public Housing of the Future, so we first had to demonstrate that the pricing was appropriate for the public sector. We succeeded, and were also shown how to resolve a number of other typical challenges. It is, for example, a widespread view that timber construction makes it hard to provide soundproofing against noise pollution, but the structures easily meet the building-regulations requirements. The result is the outcome of close interdisciplinary collaboration between acousticians, construction engineers and architects,” says Bo Pedersen, Head of Skills in Timber Construction at Artelia.

He points out that the handling of fire safety and moisture during the construction period was also demonstrated. The specialists from Artelia have subsequently given various presentations on Lisbjerg Bakke for events such as Build in Wood and Bygningsfysikdagen (Building Physics Day).

“We have a good basis on which to build, and are happy that the trend is now moving towards even more timber construction. There is still a great deal to be done on the development of this field, and we look forward to this challenge,” Dagmar Øye concludes.

One of our newest timber projects, Knudrisrækkerne, is seen below.