When they are made from climate-smart forests and sustainably managed forests, biobased buildings may tend to play a major and substantial part in combatting climate change, luring investment back into forests, and creating a carbon sink in the built environment. Read More Business News on our website.
Biobased Building The Store House Of Brighter and Healthier Future
The following are the top five arguments in favour of using sustainable lumber as a primary building material:
- Materials used for timber building is the storehouse of vast amounts of carbon
Trees maintain a sizable quantity of atmospheric carbon in their woody biomass even after being cut down, processed into wood, and utilised for anything from the building frame to a door or kitchen appliance. The carbon will continue to be retained in the structure that the wood has transformed into if it is recycled into another durable product, such bio-insulation or a timber facade, after its natural function has come to an end.
Hence, equivalent timber buildings can store the same amount of carbon as traditional buildings made of concrete and steel, which are expected to emit about 2,000 metric tonnes of CO2.
Timber construction can also generate demand for wood from those forests, which helps pay for management that lowers the likelihood of forest fires and provides habitat for wildlife. By substituting carbon-intensive materials with sustainable, well-managed forests, timber construction not only benefits the environment by reducing carbon emissions but also helps the environment by generating demand for wood from those forests.
- Ability of durability and fireproofing
With the most top notch technological production techniques, wood may now be manufactured into mass timber. Where the wood is stacked and pushed together to produce incredibly durable and sturdy wood which is used for wooden constructions.
Mass wood in its different forms is currently replacing a number of durable, carbon-emitting building materials like concrete and steel building materials like concrete and steel.
Mass timber has even bestows itself to the qualities of fireproofing and earthquake resistance. It is hard to ignite and can resist strong and damaging earthquakes and explosions.
- Cost-effective and quite effortless to construct and run
Also, compared to cement and steel, wood is easier to carry and construct because it can frequently be preassembled off-site. In addition, engineered wood can be more affordable than less environmentally friendly options because it is simpler to produce, goes up quickly, and fosters a safer, happier working environment. It might even become more affordable than steel and concrete in the future.
In East Africa, for instance, the prefabricated timber frames of Easy Housing’s affordable housing solutions can be completed in three months for projects of average size.
Lumber is likewise a more powerful protector than metals, glass and cement, so wood structures require less warming in winter and less cooling in summer, making them more energy and cost-effective to run as well.
- Timber construction generates jobs and plays an integrated role in boosting the economy of country
Encouragement of the usage of locally sourced, benefits local economies and generates jobs in a variety of industries, from sustainable forest management to carpentry.
Some national governments are moving to mandate that all new buildings be partially constructed from timber because they are aware of the negative effects on the environment as well as the economy of using wood in construction. The French government currently requires all new open structures to contain something like half wood and 20% of new homes worked in Amsterdam should be worked on lumber or bio-based materials from 2025.
Worldwide mass timber supply chains will be reenergized as wood becomes the preferred building material. Cross-laminated timber (CLT), the most widely used mass-produced timber product today, will be produced in more factories, but this must be done in a climate-friendly manner.
The supply of sustainable wood to these factories must grow in proportion to demand in accordance with the very tenet of a climate- smart forest economy, which ensures that the climate contribution is in fact net positive. We must provide the tools necessary to avoid demand leading to the degradation of the forest resource by implementing holistic carbon measures across the sink, storage, and substitution functions of the timber value chain, as well as legislation and certification schemes that prevent deforestation.
In East Africa, CSFEP is working with BuildX Studio to create a new regional value chain and market to support sustainable timber and reforestation.
- Healthier living and healthier working environments
Living and working in timber buildings benefits us physically and mentally. Wood creates healthier environments, positively impacts work efficiency and creativity, and reduces stress levels in hospital waiting rooms.