Softwood may have been the material of choice for timber architecture up to now, but hardwood has just made a dramatic entrance. 'It is simply the most challenging thing that has ever been built in cross-laminated timber [CLT]… anywhere,' says Andrew Lawrence, an associate director at Arup, about the gravity-defying 34m-long cantilevering curved tube devised by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), London-based architects Alison Brooks and Arup for this year’s London Design Festival.
The Smile, as the project is known, eschews the usual European spruce for a fast-growing tulipwood from North American forests, that has been transformed into 12 huge cross-laminated panels ('the largest hardwood CLT panels ever made', says Lawrence) and is held together by 6,000 long steel screws.
'Almost every architect we talk to says we love CLT but we don’t like the look of it!' says David Venables, European director of AHEC. The organisation has been experimenting with hardwood structures for some years now and believes the material offers the same weight and density as softwood but twice the strength and a far more appealing aesthetic (fewer knots and a classic tight timber grain).
Hardwood may cost more, acknowledges Venables, but you also need to use less of it. 'In the future we will see panels where three of the layers are softwood but the outer layers are tulipwood, for instance,' he says. 'And we will see it used in higher-end buildings where appearance really matters,' adds Lawrence. 'What’s so fun about designing in wood,' he adds, 'is that architects and engineers have to work really closely together and the way a structure is made and engineered becomes part of the architecture.'
Even more exciting is the fact that CLT is carbon neutral, sustainable (the 240 cubic metres of tulipwood used to create this particular ‘flying pavilion’ were replaced in less than five minutes) and, in the words of Alison Brooks, 'connects us back to nature in a way that is not nostalgic or rustic. It’s a material of the future.'
Set outside London's Chelsea College of Art and Design, the sculpture eschews the usual European spruce for a fast-growing tulipwood from North American forests, that has been transformed into 12 huge cross-laminated panels held together by 6,000 long steel screws
'It is simply the most challenging thing that has ever been built in cross-laminated timber [CLT]… anywhere,' says Andrew Lawrence, an associate director at Arup, about the gravity-defying 34m-long cantilevering curved tube
Softwood may have been the material of choice for timber architecture up to now, but 'The Smile' sees hardwood make a dramatic entrance
The AHEC has been experimenting with hardwood structures for some years now and says the opportunities offered by hardwood are the same weight and density but twice the strength and a far more appealing aesthetic than softwood
'What’s so fun about designing in wood,' says Lawrence, 'is that architects and engineers have to work really closely together and the way a structure is made and engineered becomes part of the architecture'
INFORMATION
’The Smile’ is on view until 25 September. For more information, visit the London Design Festival (opens in new tab) website (opens in new tab)
ADDRESS
Rootstein Hopkins Parade Ground
Chelsea College of Art and Design
16 John Islip Street
London, SW1P 4JU
VIEW GOOGLE MAPS (opens in new tab)
-
S94 Design makes the most of its uptown location to blur the lines of art and designS94 Design brings displays from Kwangho Lee, Donald Judd, Max Lamb and more to its Rafael Viñoly-designed location
-
Oasi Cashmere is taking Zegna back to its roots in the Italian Alps
Oasi Cashmere – an environmentally-conscious, all-embracing cashmere collection – is inspired by the Oasi Zegna nature park in the lush Biella Alps
-
Lynda Benglis’ seductive hall of mirrors and juicy neon eggs in London
American artist Lynda Benglis subverts expectations with new bronze sculptures and otherworldly coloured eggs in a new solo show at Thomas Dane Gallery, London
-
Iconic music venue New Century returns to life in Manchester
Music venue New Century in Manchester is back in action following sensitive revamp by architects Sheppard Robson
-
The finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond
For some of the world's finest brutalist architecture in London and beyond, scroll below. Can’t get enough of brutalism? Neither can we.
-
Charles Holland’s east London house refresh offers ‘playful conservation’
Charles Holland’s east London house design for Will Wiles and Hazel Tsao Wiles brings light, colour and flair to a Victorian restoration process
-
Don’t Move, Improve! 2023 longlist and what it reveals for London homes
The Don’t Move, Improve! 2023 longlist has been announced, unveiling some 50 homes and swathes of creativity in London’s residential architecture
-
A redesigned staircase brings openness and light in London townhouse transformation
Townhouse of Seven Stories by Architensions uses a redesigned staircase to bring openness and light to a historic London home
-
‘Women’s Work: London’ celebrates architecture and International Women's Day
Action group Part W launches ‘Women's Work: London’, a project celebrating International Women’s Day and key projects by women in our built environment
-
Arthur Mamou-Mani: Can parametric architecture bring us closer to nature?
London-based French architect Arthur Mamou-Mani uses digital design and fabrication techniques to create temples of spirituality
-
Hampstead House revives neglected Trevor Dannatt modernist home
Hampstead House by Coppin Dockray is the sensitive restoration of an overlooked Trevor Dannatt modernist home
