Environmentally-friendly timber walls could soon replace steel and concrete if Canterbury University researchers have their way.
By Ryan Boswell and Katie Stevenson
They've found cross-laminated timber wall buildings are just as strong as steel.
A new five-storey apartment block is currently being built in Christchurch, but it’s a bit different than normal.
Clearwater Quays is being made entirely from wood.
Construction manager Phil Tompkins says he’s been working with steel and concrete his whole career.
“I look at this now, why would you use anything else,” he told 1News.
It’s an emerging trend here but already popular overseas.
Norway has the world's tallest wooden building standing at more than 85 metres, with manufactured wooden slabs key to the process.
Canterbury scientists have been testing large cross-laminated timber walls to find out how multi-storey structures would respond in a big quake.
“We’re pushing and pulling on it back and forth, we’re seeing what damage accumulates, does it behave like we would expect and how would it do in an earthquake,” Professor Minghao Li from the University of Canterbury said.
It could also have environmental benefits, PhD student Ben Moerman says.
“Imagine if we could put more wood into the building sector, that is a huge benefit to our economy at the same time we are using high value added engineering product instead of sending logs overseas.”
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