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Better Buildings
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1. TRADITIONAL MATERIALS
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2. ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS
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3. DESIGN A LOW CARBON BUILDING
Glulam timberwork
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GLULAM

Glulam is an engineered material.

It is made by glueing strips of wood together to make beams. Each beam is much stronger than the individual pieces of wood that make it up.

Can you work out where the name Glulam comes from? (View answer)

What it is used for

Wooden structural framework

STRUCTURAL FRAMES

A glulam roof structure

ROOFS

Glulam pillars

PILLARS

What's good & bad

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GLULAM CAN BE MADE USING PIECES OF SCRAP WOOD FROM A SAW MILL THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE THROWN AWAY

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WOOD NEEDS TO BE TAKEN FROM A “SUSTAINABLE FOREST” – ONE THAT IS CAREFULLY LOOKED AFTER. OTHERWISE IT MAY NOT BE AS GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AS IT SEEMS

Carbon indicator

ZERO CO2

LOTS OF CO2

> VIEW ANSWER

Interesting information

Recycling materials can be an effective way of reducing the amount of embodied carbon as we are using the material for a second time without using as much energy as it took to make it the first time.

A glulam block
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A sustainable forest
Activity: You could try making your glulam-style beam. Take a handful of drinking straws and sellotape them together to form a beam, say 4 straws by 3.

Fascinating facts

Memorial plaque for Karl Friedrich Otto Hetzer

Glulam was invented by a German carpenter called Otto Hetzer in the

late nineteenth century. The plaque says:

Karl Friedrich Otto Hetzer

1846-1911

Grand Ducal Master Carpenter

Founder of modern wood glue construction.

Trees in a forest

Every tree grown absorbs more than its own weight of CO₂ – that

means a tree weighing one tonne will have absorbed more than one

tonne of CO₂ from the atmosphere.

GO TO RECYCLED PLASTIC