SPACES June issue_3July16

e v e n t s
AN
INTRODUCTION
TO TIMBER
CONSTRUCTION
Technical Support Office (TSO)
Architectures Sans Frontiers Nepal
(ASFNepal) and Architecture &
Development, supported by Foundation de
France successfully organized a seminar
led by Andrew Lawrence, Associate
Director of Arup, on 'An Introduction to
Timber in Construction'. The workshop was
held at Alliance Françoise, Tripureshwor, on
April 7, 2016.
The workshop had an impressive turnout
of more than a hundred professionals, and
students. His excellency, Yves Carmona,
Ambassador of France to Nepal and
Prafulla Man Singh Pradhan, Advisor at
un habitat were among those attending
the event. The seminar kicked off with an
introductory speech by Pawan Shrestha,
Program Manager of ASF nepal, and his
excellency Yves Carmona talked about the
need to explore different technologies and
ideas, and gave credit to the organizing
team for initiating such programs.
Andrew Lawrence, the timber specialist
from Arup, started off his session with
an argument on why ‘many people
become skeptic about wooden buildings
regarding their durability’. With that said,
he introduced the audience to the oldest
timber building in the UK, that has stood
for oever a thousand years. Lawrence
said that the last 15 years has seen a
renaissance of wooden construction
around the globe, primarily for its
sustainability and durability. He showed
some case studies of houses that were
fully constructed with timber that have had
great results.
Lawrence’s other focus was also on
ensuring maximum resistance against
termite, insects and fungus and its
further treatment using Boron, Pressure
Treatment and other tips, do's and don’ts.
Lawrence reiterated that the locally
found species of timber in Nepal Sal, is
not only very durable but also produces
natural toxins that poisons fungus and
termites. Lawrence concluded his session
supporting his argument with all the
necessary steps that are required for
grooming timber, which is a process worth
the extra mile. Lawrence’s session was
short but precise, informative and helped
build a sense of awareness among the
Nepalese and non-Nepalese, who still live
in timber homes, or are looking towards
building in timber construction.
The talk ended with the floor opening
for questions from the audience.
Questions were raised regarding the use
of materials like bamboo and timber,
policies regarding management of timber
production, structural significance of
traditional joints during the earthquake,
etc. This introductory session on timber
construction left the participants with a fair
knowledge on the topic.
18 / SPACES June 2016