Tomorrow's timber

Today, the construction and operation of our buildings account for about 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions. The goals of building intelligently while lowering emissions are two challenges that are becoming increasingly vital in addressing the demand and needs in contemporary construction. One path to achieving these goals is a strong re-emergence of a building material that has been in use for thousands of years: timber.

While most conventional construction materials emit significant carbon in their production, trees instead absorb and then sequester carbon throughout their useful lifetime. With advances in timber processing and the development of engineered "mass timber", wood as a building material is increasingly favourable for its cost profile, industrialisation potential, structural flexibility as well as its aesthetic and wellbeing quality, and perhaps most surprisingly, its fire resistance. From ever taller towers to cathedrals and Olympic stadiums, the boundaries for what's possible with timber construction are being constantly redrawn.

New design techniques, innovative technologies, improved data and understanding of how timber structures perform are all accelerating expanded use of both solid and engineered timber in architectural construction. This interdisciplinary dialogue connected speakers from academia, the construction and insurance industry to provide differentiated stances regarding the future challenges and opportunities of timber and its use in construction.