1. TRADITIONAL MATERIALS

2. ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS

3. DESIGN A LOW CARBON BUILDING

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.

What it is used for

STRUCTURAL FRAMES

ROOFS

PILLARS

What's good & bad

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

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 sustainable forest

Fascinating facts

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.

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.