Hop along on the wood building train

From SHR/SKH, we want to help make the construction sector more sustainable. The infrastructure sector is an important part of that. The use of wood makes a substantial contribution to that sustainability, provided you know how to build with this material. Speaking is Oscar van Doorn, director of SHR/SKH. 

Wood construction is nothing new, but the way we apply it today is something of the last few decades, says Van Doorn. "With engineered wood (CLT, LVL) in high-rise buildings, 3D modular construction and themes around detachable, the use of wood has gained momentum in construction, as well as GWW," he says. "As more and more parties jump on this wood construction train, the lack of knowledge becomes apparent."

Knowledge widely available

The traditional users of wood have to deal with the disappearance of knowledge due to the departure of older personnel, while the new entrants still have to build up the knowledge. "The result, unfortunately, is that defects are also regularly found, for example in the areas of technical detailing, fire safety, acoustics, moisture, material knowledge and planning," Van Doorn knows. And that, according to him, is a waste and above all unnecessary! "All the knowledge is available in our country. People just don't always know how to find it. Moreover, the scaling up of timber construction and the unnecessary mistakes that are made can start to suffer from negative perception by professionals, politicians and the general public." 

Urgency of competence

At testing and knowledge partner SHR, we feel this "urgency of competence" like no other and have therefore decided to take responsibility for improving the availability, findability and visibility of knowledge, suggests Van Doorn. "We do this by organizing and facilitating professional wood construction training and courses. These are offered at a central online location: The Wood Construction Educator. To give this platform awareness and traction, we also organize various knowledge-sharing evenings in Pakhuis de Zwijger from De Houtbouw Opleider: 'Wood construction is gold, but can also go wrong' and we are partners in initiatives such as the National Wood Construction Game."

Getting Started

The second edition of 'Timber construction is gold, but can also go wrong' takes place on Oct. 6 and focuses on fire safety in timber construction. The preliminary program consists of 'lessons learned' presentations by De Groot Vroomshoop and Urban Climate Architects, followed by a discussion with experts from Peutz, Derix, NBVT, SHR and others. On November 5 and 6, during the Climate Summit Built Environment 2025, the National Timber Construction Game will officially launch: a unique, free 4-week learning program that helps professionals get started quickly and effectively with large-scale timber construction. "In short, jump on the timber construction train with us and help make the construction and infrastructure sector more sustainable," Van Doorn concluded.