Timber iQ June / July 2016 | Issue: 26

Design & Construction June - July 2016 // Issue: 26 // Price: R40,00 incl.

ISSN 2305-9648

CONTENTS

CONTENTS 12

20

46

56

2

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

6

EDITOR'S NOTE

10

CONTRIBUTORS & EVENTS

12

TIMBER DESIGN - SETSUNA DEBUT

20

COVER STORY - IFA: RAISING THE BAR

27

TIMBER ARTWORK - MODERNIST GROTTO

32

FORESTRY STANDARDS - SA-SPECIFIC CERTIFICATION

34

DECKING - DL TERRACE

36

INDUSTRY NEWS - THE WOOD FOUNDATION®

37

ADVERTORIAL - ROOS WOODWORKING MACHINERY

38

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION - WORLD'S TALLEST

42

TIMBER TRUSSES - ROOFTEK TRUSSES

44

TIMBER WORKSHOP - WOLF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

46

TIMBER ART - SERPENTINE SUMMER HOUSE 2016

49

INDUSTRY EVENT - INTERBUILD AFRICA 2016

50

ITC-SA EVENT - TIMBER ENGINEERED PRODUCT AWARDS

53

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION - HWZ INTERNATIONAL

56

TIMBER DESIGN - FIRMLY ROOTED

60

TREE RESEARCH - SURVIVING DEATH FROM DROUGHT

CONTENTS

CONTENTS TIMBER CONSTRUCTION - RESIDENTIAL CARE HOME

62

WOOD PRESERVATION - ECO-FRIENDLY GARDEN

64

TIMBER TREATMENT - ARCH WOOD PROTECTION

66

TIMBER ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE - OVERPASS

68

FORESTRY RESEARCH - RESPOND TO CLIMATE CHANGE

71

ADVERTORIAL - ECO TIMBER TRADERS

72

SAWMILLING - WOOD-MIZER

75

INDUSTRY NEWS - UPM PLYWOOD

78

SAWMILLING - PETERSON PORTABLE SAWMILLS

80

TIMBER DESIGN - WINDHOVER CONTEMPLATIVE CENTER

84

ECO-FURNITURE - FOR OUR CHILDREN

87

FORESTRY - EASTERN CAPE

88

WOOD PROFILE - LIGHT RED MERANTI

90

WOODWORKING MANUFACTURING - LIGNA CONFERENCE

94

INDUSTRY 4.0 - AN(OTHER) INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION?

96

BAMBOO - ROC VON RESTAURANT

98

THATCH - BIGGARSBERG THATCHERS

102

FURNITURE INDUSTRY NEWS - BOOST FOR FURNITURE

104

62

68

84

98

// JUNE / JULY 2016

3

SPAX – Stainless steel A2

SPAX Facade screw for visible and invisible fixture

SPAX provides the best solution for the fastening of wooden facades and phenolic resin panels on wooden substructures.

Distributer for Southern Africa

od

uk

tpr

18 S0

5-

an

i n G e r mandar -St

A7

iw

M aillige Pr

de

y

TÜV NORD CERT GmbH F re

20 van der Berg Crescent Gants Centre- Strand 7140 Tel.: 021 853 5101 · Fax: 021 855 3108 info@fixtec.co.za · www.fixtec.co.za

d

Faitsch Products

üfu n

g gem. TN

EDITOR'S NOTE

The sheer brilliance of wood Ever heard of transparent wood? It's real, and it's here...another incredible way in which the wonder that is wood, can improve our lives. Dare I say: Move over, glass?

I

f you’re part of the timber industry, you don’t need any schooling on why wood is one of the best construction materials around. (Starting with its beauty all the way to its carbon footprint – we already know, thank you.) But wood could soon be working even harder for us: Some very smart scientists have developed a new, transparent wood material that holds immense promise.

Swedish researchers at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology have refined a technique that produces optically transparent wood, and which is suitable for not only limited use, but for mass production. In very simple terms, they chemically removed the lignin (making the wood white), and then added the see-through polymer PMMA to achieve remarkable light transmittance. This science bodes very well for large-scale applications like solar cells on buildings, non-breaking wood panels for windows, and also semi-transparent façades where the objective would be to allow in natural light whilst upholding privacy.

Not to be outdone, scientists at the University of Maryland have also confirmed the development of transparent wood that is stronger, and has higher insulating properties, than glass. They say their technique can be scaled up for application in car manufacturing, for light-based electronics systems, and as a unique building material – in as little as five years. The research team removed the lignin by boiling wood in a bath of water, sodium

hydroxide and other chemicals, and then filled the cells with epoxy (which made it four to six times stronger).

Impressively, the tissues act like xylem channels, transporting and diffusing light rather brilliantly. This is fascinating wood technology, and in the next issue we’ll be bringing you the full story – with pictures.

Alongside current advances in wood construction that are turning ‘wood-and-glue dreams’ into real buildings infused with timber – the next generation of skyscrapers, in fact – we’re also keeping our sights trained on the pioneering technology of cross-laminated timber so that we can report on the latest trends as they unfold. As of now, international lumber producers are increasingly using super powerful adhesives to construct massive wood panels that outclass concrete and steel in strength and durability. And this is inspiring architects to conceive and realize buildings that were previously thought to be completely out of the question.

Thankfully, ‘impossible’ is not a word that we associate with timber. You only need to read on to see why.

Welcome to the June/July edition of Timber iQ, which delights in bringing you, our valued reader, features and stories that show exactly why wood is the true fabric of our lives. I hope you enjoy the read.

Celéste

CONTRIBUTOR & EVENTS

CONTRIBUTOR

THE TEAM EDITOR:

STEPHANIE DYER Stephanie Dyer’s love for, and interest in wood, led to a career in wood science, working at the South African Forestry Research Institute and the CSIR, where she was involved in research on wood properties of indigenous and introduced species. She also provided a wood identification service at these institutes and, since relocating to Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal in 1998, she has continued with the service.

Stephanie lectured part-time at Pretoria Technikon for the National Diploma in Timber Technology and, more recently, on Forest Products and Processing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg. Stephanie holds an MSc in Plant Anatomy and is a Professional Natural Scientist.

Celéste Perrin celeste@trademax.co.za

PUBLISHER: Billy Perrin billy@trademax.co.za 082 266 6976

ADVERTISING: Angeline Martin angie@trademax.co.za

Most recently, Stephanie co-authored Southern African Wood/Suider-Afrikaanse Hout, a scientifically accurate guide to the characteristics, properties and uses of wood from 120 Southern African tree species. This beautifully illustrated book is now available from Briza Publications.

LAYOUT & DESIGN: Craig Patterson craig@trademax.co.za

UPCOMING EVENTS

SUBSCRIPTIONS: Belinda Thwesha belinda@trademax.co.za

TIMBER ROOF STRUCTURE WORKSHOP 18 - 19 AUGUST 2016: CENTURION, GAUTENG 27 - 28 OCTOBER 2016: SALT ROCK, KZN

TRADEMAX PUBLICATIONS Tel: 0861 727 663 Fax: 0866 991 346 www.trademax.co.za Postnet Suite 241 Private Bag X103 N1 City 7463

Visit www.wolfpro.co.za for more info

CAPE CONSTRUCTION CONFERENCE & TRADE EXPO 11 - 12 AUGUST 2016, CTICC, CAPE TOWN Visit www.cape-construction.co.za for more info

INTERBUILD AFRICA 2016 17 - 20 AUGUST 2016, EXPO CENTRE NASREC, JHB

DISCLAIMER

The views expressed herein are not necessarily those of Trademax Publications. Although we have done our best to ensure the accuracy of our content, neither Trademax Publications nor Timber iQ magazine will be held liable for any views expressed or information disseminated, in editorial content or advertisements, in this issue.

Visit www.interbuild.co.za for more info

NEW! WOOD WORLD SOUTH AFRICA (RUNNING ALONGSIDE INTERBUILD AFRICA 2016 IN HALL 5) Visit www.woodworldsa.co.za for more info

THE INSTITUTE FOR TIMBER CONSTRUCTION (ITC-SA) ANNUAL TIMBER ENGINEERED PRODUCT AWARDS 19 AUGUST 2016 (DURING INTERBUILD AFRICA 2016) EXPO CENTRE NASREC, JHB Email jenni@itc-sa.org for more info

KNYSNA TIMBER FESTIVAL 7 - 9 OCTOBER 2016, PREMIER HOTEL, KNYSNA Visit www.timberfestival.co.za for more info

AGFO (AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY) EXPO 21 - 23 OCTOBER 2016, CASTERBRIDGE LIFESTYLE CENTRE, WHITE RIVER Visit www.agfo.co.za for more info

GET IN TOUCH 10

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

Follow us @Timber_iQ

Like us Timber iQ

Follow us Timber iQ

Connect with us Timber iQ

Visit us www.trademax.co.za

MID YEAR SPECIAL

Package Deal

EB280 EDGE BANDER

ECONO PANEL SAW

R300,000 +VAT

POT HINGE BORER

Includes Delivery JHB Area

2 X DOUBLE BAG EXRACTORS

ONLY APPLICABLE WHEN ABOVE 5 MACHINES BOUGHT TOGETHER ON JUNE/JULY PACKAGE DEAL

EXTRAS...

THICKNESSERS From R49,000

OVERHEAD ROUTERS From R30,000

SPINDLES From R60,000

AND MUCH MORE...

SANDERS From R193,000

CONTACT ALLWOOD ON 011 392 1221 TEL: +27 11 392 1221 FAX: +27 11 392 1229 CELL: 072 149 1455 EMAIL: scott.m@allwoodtech.co.za Unit B1, Grader Place, 23 Grader Road, Spartan Ext3

WHILE STOCKS LAST ALL PRICES QUOTED EXCLUDE VAT

www.allwoodtech.co.za www.usedwoodmachines4u.co.za

TIMBER DESIGN

Toyota brings their concept behind Setsuna to life using wood.

Not a moment too soon Earlier this year, Toyota made a fittingly stylish first appearance at Milan Design Week with the debut of Setsuna, an attractive new concept car made primarily of wood.

All images © Toyota

T

he decision to use wood, a material that is durable yet prone to change over time, reflects Toyota’s efforts to give form to the developing relationships between people and their cars. The Setsuna symbolizes how cars undergo a gradual transformation over the years, as if absorbing the aspirations, memories, and emotions of multiple generations of a family.

A NEW TYPE OF VALUE With the Setsuna concept, Toyota is expressing the notion that, as a family accrues time and experiences together with their car, lovingly caring for it and passing it on to the next generation, that car will acquire a new type of value that only the members of that family can appreciate.

12

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

The car’s name — Setsuna, meaning ‘moment’ in Japanese, was chosen to reflect that people experience precious, fleeting moments together with their cars. Toyota believes that, over time, these collective moments make their cars irreplaceable to their owners.

To embody this concept, Toyota picked a variety of distinctive types of wood for different parts of the car, including the exterior panels1, frame, floor, and seats.

Wood provides uniquely appealing characteristics that are not offered in conventional cars. It can last for many generations if properly taken care of and it also changes in colouration and texture in response to its environment (particularly temperature and humidity) and conditions of use, taking on a unique character and depth.

TIMBER DESIGN

Kenji Tsuji, the Toyota engineer overseeing development of the Setsuna, said of his process: “We evaluated various ways to express the concept and selected different lumber materials for specific applications, such as Japanese cedar for the exterior panels and Japanese birch for the frame. We also paid particular attention to the sizes and arrangements of individual parts.”

“For the assembly structure, we adopted a traditional Japanese joinery technique called okuriari2, which does not use any nails or screws. The completed body line of the Setsuna expresses a beautiful curve reminiscent of a boat,” he said.

Wipe-lacquering (hand-applied) has been used to bring out the wood grain.

“We would also like the viewer to imagine how the Setsuna will gradually develop a complex and unique character over the years. The car includes a 100year meter that will keep time over generations, and seats that combine functional beauty with the gentle hue of the wood,” Tsuji concluded.

MAIN SPECIFICATIONS OVERALL LENGTH

OVERALL WIDTH

OVERALL HEIGHT

WHEELBASE

SEATING CAPACITY

POWERTRAIN

3,030mm

1,480mm

970mm

1,700mm

2

Electric motor

// JUNE / JULY 2016

13

TIMBER DESIGN

BRINGING THE CONCEPT TO LIFE USING WOOD Wood was used as the material for this vehicle as a means of expressing the idea that love grows as time passes. The colour and feel of wood changes as it is cared for. It responds directly to the love that it is given. As the Setsuna is repeatedly passed on from generation to generation, it is transformed into a car that belongs only to that family. Physical changes to the car embody the changing nature of its bond with its owners, representing memories of time passed together.

TIMBER DESIGN

Wood provides uniquely appealing characteristics that are not offered in conventional cars.

TIMBER DESIGN

Seats that gently cradle.

BODY MADE OF REPLACEABLE WOODEN PANELS The Setsuna's body is composed of 86 handmade panels.

Considerable thought was given to the design and creation of each panel from the outset, and each of these panels will develop and change differently as the car ages. Eventually, when repairs become necessary, individual panels can be replaced rather than needing to replace the entire body. Looking at a panel that has been repaired, owners will be able to see the traces of where work has been done by hand, and sense the memories that have been passed down.

CAREFUL SELECTION OF WOOD SUITED TO EACH SECTION Despite being a concept car, the Setsuna offers basic vehicular performance and is able to drive, turn, and stop.

In order to achieve this, each type of wood — including wood selected for use in components — was selected for a specific application.

For the exterior panels, Japanese cedar was selected for the vividness and refinement of its wood grain and its flexibility as a material. For the frame, Japanese birch was selected for its strong rigidity; for the floor, Japanese zelkova was selected for its strength and excellent durability, and for the seats, the smooth-textured castor aralia was selected.

16

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

TIMBER DESIGN TIMBER DESIGN

A body line with beautiful curves.

To fully express the beauty of certain wood grains, two patterns of Japanese cedar can be exchanged to make up the exterior panels of the Setsuna. These two patterns are the straight grain, cut toward the centre of the logs, and the cross grain, cut at an appropriate distance from the centre of the logs. The straight grain gives a formal impression with the grain showing sharply and evenly. In contrast, the cross grain is softer and more irregular, with different types of grain visible in each piece of wood, creating a quaint and friendly impression.

In joints of the frame, split tenons are fastened to through tenons that have been pushed through several parts to hold the frame together. This detailed care applied to the making of the Setsuna through wood-only joining techniques is an important facet of its unique personality.

TRADITIONAL JAPANESE JOINERY TECHNIQUES:

Milan Design Week (held in April this year) is the world’s largest design exhibition and held in Milan, Italy. Furniture manufacturers and fashion brands hold various events to highlight the uniqueness of their products. It is also called Salone del Mobile, Milano.

OKURIARI AND KUSABI Traditional Japanese techniques such as okuriari and kusabi were used so that the wood could be joined without nails or screws.

Okuriari, which allows the exterior panels to be fitted and taken off without using any nails, not only increases the strength of joints but also makes it possible to make partial changes to dovetailing and mortise joints if the fastenings have worn down. This means it is possible to continue using the car without additional processing of the main body.

18

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

NOTES AND REFERENCES: Although the Setsuna is fully driveable, it cannot be driven on public roads like an ordinary car.

The exterior panels of the car were developed jointly with Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd. 1

2

A joinery method used when making beams and lintels.

WISA Plywood – Efficiency Made Easy™ ®

Sustainable WISA® plywood with professional services offer superior performance and value to every project.

WISA-Spruce is a light-weight multipurpose structural panel with very good strength and stability properties. WISA-Spruce is designed for structural load bearing applications such as roofing, flooring and wall sheathing.

WISA-Birch is a versatile product of high quality for various applications where an excellent strength to weight ratio is needed. Due to its light, smooth and even surface WISA-Birch offers an optimal base for different overlaying methods.

Agent in Southern Africa: www.npp.co.za Distributors: Universal Plywoods, www.universalply.com Timboard, www.timboard.co.za

Reliable WISA products are certified in accordance with the relevant technical and environmental standards.

www.wisaplywood.com

COVER STORY

IFA: Raising the bar Ian Fuller Agencies (IFA) has excelled in the timber industry for more than 30 years and is renowned as one of South Africa's leading stockists and suppliers of quality hardwood, softwood and board from around the world. IFA partners with a number of international companies to offer an exceptional range of quality timber products.

Baillie Lumber is one of North America's largest hardwood lumber manufacturers, distributors and exporters: AMERICAN ASH GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The sapwood is light-coloured to nearly white, and the heartwood varies from greyish brown to light brown. The wood is generally straight-grained with a coarse uniform texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Ash machines well, holds up well in nailing, screwing and gluing, and can be stained and polished.

MAIN USES: Furniture, flooring, doors, architectural interiors, high-class cabinetry and mouldings, and tool handles.

AMERICAN CHERRY GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood of Cherry varies from rich red to reddish brown and will darken on exposure to light. In contrast, the sapwood is creamy white. The wood has a fine, uniform straight grain and smooth texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Cherry is easy to machine and it nails and glues well. When sanded, stained and polished, it produces an excellent, smooth finish.

MAIN USES: Furniture and cabinetmaking, high-class joinery, kitchen cabinets, mouldings, flooring, doors, boat interiors, musical instruments, turning and carving.

AMERICAN HARD MAPLE GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The sapwood is creamy white with a slight reddishbrown tinge, while the heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown.

20

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

Both sapwood and heartwood can contain pith fleck. The wood has a close, fine texture and is generally straightgrained.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Hard Maple dries slowly with a large shrinkage, so it can be susceptible to movement in performance. Pre-boring is recommended when nailing and screwing. With care it machines well, turns well, glues satisfactorily, and can be stained and polished to a good finish.

MAIN USES: Flooring, furniture, panelling, kitchen cabinets, worktops and table tops. Also interior joinery, including: stairs, handrails, mouldings and doors.

AMERICAN RED OAK GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The sapwood of Red Oak is white to light brown, and the heartwood is a pinkish reddish brown. The wood is similar in general appearance to White Oak, but with a slightly less pronounced figure due to the smaller rays. The wood is mostly straight-grained with a coarse texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Red Oak machines well. Nailing and screwing is good, although pre-boring is recommended. Red Oak can be stained and polished to a good finish. It dries slowly with a tendency to split and warp.

MAIN USES: Construction, furniture, flooring, architectural interiors, internal joinery and mouldings, doors, kitchen cabinets, panelling, coffins and caskets.

AMERICAN WHITE OAK GENERAL DESCRIPTION: White Oak is similar in colour and appearance to European Oak. The sapwood of American White Oak is light-coloured, and the heartwood is light to dark brown. White Oak is mostly straight-grained with a medium to coarse texture, with longer rays than Red Oak. WORKING PROPERTIES: White Oak machines, nails and screws well, although pre-boring is advised. Since it reacts with iron, galvanized nails are recommended. It has good adhesive properties, and stains and polishes to a good finish.

COVER STORY

MAIN USES: Construction, furniture, flooring, architectural joinery, exterior joinery, interior joinery and mouldings, doors, kitchen cabinets, panelling, railway sleepers, timber bridges, barrel staves, coffins and caskets.

AMERICAN BLACK WALNUT GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The sapwood of Walnut is creamy white, while the heartwood is light brown to dark chocolate brown – occasionally with a purplish cast and darker streaks. The wood is generally straight-grained, and sometimes with wavy or curly grain that produces an attractive and decorative look.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Walnut works easily with handand machine tools and it nails, screws and glues well. It holds paint and stains very well and can be polished to an exceptional finish. It dries slowly. Walnut has good dimension stability.

MAIN USES: Furniture, cabinetmaking, architectural interiors, high-class joinery, doors, flooring and panelling.

AMERICAN POPLAR (TULIP WOOD) GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood is a light cream to yellowish brown, with occasional streaks of grey or green. The sapwood is pale yellow to white – not always clearly demarcated from the heartwood. It can also be seen in mineral-stained colours ranging from dark purple to red or yellow – sometimes referred to as Rainbow Poplar. Colours tend to darken upon exposure to light. Poplar typically has a straight, uniform grain with a medium texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Very easy to machine in all regards. One of Poplar’s only downsides is its softness.

MAIN USES: Seldom used for its appearance, Poplar is a utility wood in nearly every sense. It is used for pallets, crates, upholstered furniture and veneer.

Ian Fuller Agencies' relationship with the South American and South East Asian market creates opportunities to import the finest timber decking and boards:

WORKING PROPERTIES: Meranti is easy to work with and it glues, stains and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Plywood, interior furniture, general construction, concrete forms, veneer and boatbuilding.

BALAU GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Balau is a tropical hardwood. It is a very dense, tight-grained wood with a fine and even texture. The colour of the heartwood is grey brown to dark brown.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Typically hard to work with due to the high density of the timber. Glues, stains and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Plywood, veneer, general construction and exterior decking.

GARAPA GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Garapa is a golden, yellowish brown colour, which darkens with age. Its grain is usually straight with a medium, uniformed texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Easy to work with, despite the density of the timber. Glues and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Flooring, decking and boatbuilding.

MASSARANDUBA GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood is a medium to dark reddish brown. Pale yellow sapwood is clearly differentiated from the heartwood. Its grain is straight to interlocked, or wavy with a fine uniformed texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Massaranduba generally works well with both hand- and machine tools, despite the density of the timber.

MAIN USES: Heavy construction, decking, flooring, boatbuilding and turned timber.

PLYWOOD Ian Fuller Agencies stocks a wide variety of the finest commercial, marine and film-faced plywood in a range of thicknesses.

MERANTI GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Typically dark reddish or purple brown, with white resin streaks. The grain can be straight or interlocked.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

21

COVER STORY

Ian Fuller Agencies also supports the local African market with a variety of hard- and softwood timbers: AFRICAN WALNUT GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood of African Walnut is golden yellow to reddish brown, sometimes with darker streaks and veins. Colour tends to darken upon exposure and with age. Sapwood is a medium yellow to light grey, and is generally narrow and clearly demarcated from the heartwood.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Generally easy to work with both hand- and machine tools, although care must be taken to avoid tear-out when surfacing. It turns, glues and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Veneer, plywood, flooring, furniture, cabinetry and turned products.

KIAAT GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood colour can vary widely – from lighter golden brown, to darker reddish or purplish brown. The grain is straight to interlocked, with a medium to coarse texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Generally easy to work with tools.

However, if there is interlocked grain present, it may tear out during planing operations. Glues, stains and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Furniture, boatbuilding, veneer, turnings and other small wooden objects.

IROKO GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood is usually a yellow to golden or medium brown, tending to darken over time. Pale yellow sapwood is clearly demarcated from the heartwood. Iroko has a medium to coarse texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Generally easy to work with, with the exception of its interlocked grain, which may cause some tear-out during surface operations. Iroko glues and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Veneer, flooring, furniture, cabinetry, boatbuilding and turned items.

22

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

AFRICAN MAHOGANY GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Heartwood colour is variable, ranging from very pale pink to a deeper reddish brown.

Colour tends to darken with age. The grain is straight to interlocked, with a medium to coarse texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Easy to work, glue and finish.

Tear-out can sometimes be a problem if the grain is interlocked.

MAIN USES: Veneer, plywood, turned items, furniture, boatbuilding and interior trims.

AFRICAN ROSEWOOD GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The sapwood is white to yellow in colour, and narrow. The heartwood is red, streaked with dark purple, and very hard. A rich pink when freshly cut, it turns to a mahogany reddish brown with oxidization and maturity.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Easy to work with and very durable and stable. African Rosewood finishes well.

MAIN USES: Canoes, boatbuilding, furniture, cabinetry, sleepers, factory flooring, heavy construction, joinery, veneer, decking, flooring, boxes and crates.

EKKI GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood of Ekki is a dark reddish or violet brown. Pores contain lightcoloured mineral deposits, which form small but conspicuous streaks throughout the wood. Sapwood is a pale pinkish white. The grain is interlocked, with a coarse texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Ekki is difficult to work on account of its density and interlocked grain, which can cause tearout. Gluing can also pose problems due to the density and oil content of the timber.

MAIN USES: Bridges, boatbuilding, marine applications, decking and flooring.

ZAMBIAN TEAK GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood is a medium reddish brown, commonly with black streaks. The sharply defined sapwood is a pale pinkish yellow. Grain is straight to interlocked.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Can be difficult to work because of high cutting resistance. It saws slowly and has a tendency to ride up over joiner knives. However, the wood is stable in service, and it glues, turns and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Flooring, decking, veneer, mill work, fret boards and turning.

COVER STORY

SAPELE GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood is a golden to dark reddish brown. Colour tends to darken with age. Besides the common ribbon pattern seen on quarter-sawn boards, Sapele is also known for a wide variety of other figured grain patterns. The grain is interlocked, and sometimes wavy with a fine uniformed texture.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Sapele can be troublesome to work in some machining operations, resulting in tear-out due to its interlocked grain. It will also react when put into direct contact with iron, becoming discoloured and stained. It turns, glues and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Veneer, plywood, furniture, cabinetry, flooring, boatbuilding, musical instruments and turning.

SA PINE GENERAL DESCRIPTION: The heartwood is light brown, while the sapwood is a pale yellowish white and distinct from the heartwood. SA Pine generally has very wide growth rings.

WORKING PROPERTIES: SA Pine generally works well with both hand- and machine tools. Pine glues and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Veneer, plywood, paper, boxes/crates and construction timber.

MDF & CHIPBOARD Ian Fuller Agencies holds a wide variety of local MDF, chipboard and veneer in different sizes and thicknesses.

A recent partnership secured with European-based HWZ International has enabled IFA to offer a great variety of construction timber products: EUROPEAN ROUGH SAWN SPRUCE GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Spruce is typically creamy white in colour, with a hint of yellow or red. Spruce has a fine texture, as well as a consistently

SIBERIAN LARCH GENERAL DESCRIPTION: Heartwood is reddish brown when dry, with a band of narrow white sap and really sharp definition of the grain.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Larch saws, machines and finishes well.

MAIN USES: Good for heavy structural work, cladding and decking.

SPRUCE BEAMS KVH: Structural timber – this is a kilndried and finger-jointed, strengthgraded timber product made from Spruce. Dimensionally stable and 4-side planed. Suitable for timber frame buildings and timber constructions.

DUO AND TRIO: These 2-ply and 3-ply laminated timbers (previously fingerjointed) have a higher visual quality thanks to the laminating of the outer side of the beam. This is a premium building product with the look and feel of solid timber. Lamellas are horizontally laminated.

BSH: This multi-ply, laminated, kilndried wooden component is a modern construction material characterized as very dimensionally stable and with high bearing capacity. An ideal alternative to steel.

CLT 3-PLY PANELS: Cross-laminated timber boards consist of three layers.

The middle layer is rotated by 90 degrees relative to the outer layers.

This product has a high visual quality and is perfect for building, construction, indoor use as well as furniture making.

OSB (ORIENTED STRAND BOARD): OSB is an engineered wood particle board formed by adding adhesives and then compressing layers of wood strands (flakes) in specific orientations. OSB is suitable for all kinds of construction.

straight grain.

WORKING PROPERTIES: Easy to work, as long as there are no knots present. Glues and finishes very well.

MAIN USES: Paper, construction timber, mill work, crates, Christmas trees and musical instrument soundboards.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

23

COVER STORY

PAVATEX: Specializing in the manufacturing of high-quality wood fibre insulation products for the building industry, Pavatex offers outstanding insulation solutions for renovations and new projects. Pavatex is eco-friendly, sustainable, and easy to install.

FERMACELL: Fermacell GmbH produces and distributes high-quality building materials for the dry lining boards market. In Germany, Fermacell is the market leader with regards to gypsum fibre boards, and the brand also stands for cementitious boards.

NOVATOP: Novatop is a complete building system with components made from large-scale, crosslaminated solid wood (CLT is crosslaminated timber). Individual components are characterized by high strength and stability in compressive stress and tension with exceptional static strength. It can be applied to walls, ceilings and roofs.

For more information, stock availability and pricing, contact your nearest Ian Fuller Agencies branch.

IAN FULLER AGENCIES (PTY) LTD Gareth Hare (c) 27+ 084 459 7788 (e) gareth.hare@ifatimber.co.za (w) www.ifatimber.co.za

Photo by Erich Spahn

fermacell consists of gypsum and recycled paper Þbres. These two natural raw materials are mixed with water, without any other binders being added. The mixture is then pressed into stable boards under high pressure, dried, coated with a water repellent layer, and cut to the required sizes.

“ “

ÒThe outstanding Þre-resistance, noise protection and load carrying capacity makes fermacell a perfect solution, not only for interiors of houses, but also for schools and hospitals.”

Milan Detko, Product specialist | HWZ International SA | www.hwz.co.za

“One high density Fermacell board suites most applications. It combines Impact and water resistance and can be used close to the Þre place. This reduces the amount of used material and time spent on the building site. ”

Martin Novak, Builder | MC Frames | www.mc-frames.co.za

“

ÒThe fermacell board for walls and ßooring offer a complex solution for construction and renovations in South Africa.”

Gareth Hare, Distributor | Ian Fuller Agencies | www.ifatimber.co.za

Gareth Hare Ian Fuller Agencies +27 084 459 7788 gareth.hare@ifatimber.co.za

24

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

modular

timber frame

homes ECO FRIENDLY

MANUFACTURED IN CAPE TOWN DELIVERED TO YOU

SPRUCE & LARCH TIMBER SALES

2 Thermo Road 021 945 2731

Swiss Line Ad 180x267.indd 1

Triangle Farm Stikland

info@swisslinedesign.co.za

Cape Town

www.swisslinedesign.co.za

2015/02/17 3:04 PM

TIMBER ARTWORK

Modernist grotto A captivating new piece of public artwork, made from 10,000 tree samples gathered from across the world, has been unveiled by the University of Bristol.

Photo credit: Max McClure

T

he intricate structure, called Hollow, is located in Royal Fort Gardens and represents the planet’s history and evolution through time.

Described as a ‘modernist grotto,’ it is big enough to fit two people and promises to be an immersive experience as light falls through apertures in the ceiling, mimicking the way sunlight falls through trees in a forest.

Hollow was commissioned to mark the opening of the University’s £56.5-million Life Sciences Building and was produced by Bristol-based public art producers, Situations.

It took the artist Katie Paterson three years to amass the samples, many of which have been donated by private collectors, arboretums and botanic gardens across the world.

“Some samples are incredibly rare – fossils of unfathomable age, and fantastical trees such as Cedar of Lebanon, the Phoenix Palm, and the Methuselah Tree thought to be one of the oldest trees in the world at 4,847 years of age – as well as a railroad tie taken from the Panama Canal Railway, which claimed the lives of between 5,000 and 10,000 workers over its 50 year construction,” she remarked.

Also among the 10,000 pieces of wood is a fossil from an ancient forest that grew 390 million years ago where New York City now stands.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

27

TIMBER DESIGN

TIMBER DESIGN

TIMBER ARTWORK

Wood from more recent historic events also forms part of the structure, including part of the iconic Atlantic City boardwalk devastated by hurricane Sandy in 2012, and a sample from the Japanese Ginkgo tree in Hiroshima – a tree that witnessed and survived one of the darkest moments of human history.

Professor Guy Orpen, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol and Chair of its Public Arts Committee, commented, “We’re very excited to see Hollow in situ at Royal Fort Gardens and have no doubt that it will be a magnificent piece of public art for people across Bristol and beyond to explore and enjoy. It’s quite amazing to think that trees of all ages, from so many different families and from all corners of the earth, will be represented.”

“It’s certainly a captivating way to celebrate the important work taking place in our world-leading Life Sciences Building, where our researchers are studying many of the acute challenges which face humanity this century – such as food security, biodiversity loss and climate change.

Hollow allows us to connect in new and previously unimagined ways with the beauty, complexity and depth of the natural world.”

30

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

Architects Christoph Zeller and Ingrid Moye added, “The hollow interior is an introverted and meditative space where, whether sitting or standing, one finds oneself embraced by history. Our design conjoins thousands of wooden blocks of differing sizes to form one immense cosmos of wood-producing textures, apertures and stalactites. Openings in the vaulted top let in just enough natural light to create the dappled light effect of a forest canopy.”

Hollow is now open to the public to be enjoyed during daylight hours all year round.

Alongside Hollow, a public participation project called Treebank has been developed with BBC Get Creative. It offers the chance to contribute to an online collection of memories, impressions and creative responses which capture how trees shape our existence on the planet.

These might include audio or visual contributions, describing a particular place and time, a rare and ancient tree, or a common, but personally significant, tree.

TIMBER ARTWORK

DO YOU HAVE A GREAT PROJECT OR STORY TO SHARE WITH TIMBER iQ READERS? Send your article and high resolution images to editor@trademax.co.za or call 0861 727 663 for more information.

YOUR PRINT MEDIA PARTNER OF CHOICE, SUPPORTING LOCAL TRADE.

CONTACT US: info@trademax.co.za / 0861 727 663 / www.trademax.co.za

// JUNE / JULY 2016

31

FORESTRY STANDARDS

SA-specific forest certification Following stakeholders within the South African forestry sector's expression of a clear need, industry can look forward to a forest certification system that is better aligned with our country's specific plantation forestry framework.

I

n today’s timber markets, the importance of forestry certification – in compliance with industry-accepted and recognized standards – is undisputed. The Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) standard is arguably the bestknown and most widely implemented standard internationally as well as locally, with close to 80% of South African timber plantations being certified under it.

But of this percentage, most operations are large-scale, with only a negligible number of small-scale operations having attained certification.

In 2013 the FSC released revised Principles and Criteria (Version 5), followed in 2014 by a set of International Generic Indicators (IGIs) that were intended to make FSC

32

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

certification more uniform across different countries. The Standards Development Group SA (SDG-SA) was tasked with adapting the SA National FSC Standard to the new Principles and Criteria.

But with the acknowledgement that a different system is needed for South Africa – one that is more applicable to and considerate of smallholder needs, and which will simultaneously lessen the restrictions that go hand-inhand with reliance on a singular system, the wheels were set in motion to develop an alternative forest certification system to that of the FSC.

FORESTRY STANDARDS

The FSC has stringent requirements for each of the IGIs to be sufficiently compared to national indicators so that the final (best) selection can be adequately justified. The SDGSA team adopted a ‘co-development’ approach whereby they actively engaged South African stakeholders for input, consulting extensively with specialists and interest groups alike in order to get a first draft set of indicators compiled that would also enable actual forest testing in different local grower contexts.

The SDG-SA team have taken into account the impact of plantation forestry on the environmental asset base. By analysing factors that drive these impacts and considering their relative importance to plantation forestry in South Africa, appropriate indicators to fit the local context and reflect the national sustainable plantation management priorities could be put in place. This approach will also ensure that indicators reflect risk, so that low-impact and small-scale operations can be fairly assessed. (The riskbased approach adopted is consistent with shifts in the FSC’s global strategy and emphasis.) Moreover, a landscape approach for communal areas can be introduced.

PROGRESS • As the first phase of a six-month consultation period, the first draft of the revised National FSC Standard (Version 1.0) was released for public consultation over the period 4 January to 29 February 2016.

• The consultation period to review and further revise the draft standard was set from mid-December 2015 until the end of June 2016.

• Submission of the revised standard to the FSC PSU was set for July 2016.

The process of creating a customized system that will be appropriately governed and administered also includes the establishment of a National Governing Body (NGB) that will assume overall responsibility for the system. As such, Forestry South Africa (FSA), South Africa's premier and largest forestry organization representing growers of timber in the country, recently issued a call to industry stakeholders to get involved and get the NGB set up.

Once the NGB has been correctly established and aptly structured as a recognized legal entity (including scope of duties, personnel, funding model, etc.), legal aspects and additional certification requirements for a forest certification system will have to be determined, in consultation with SANAS (the South African National Accreditation System) and the current committee representing the local forestry industry.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: SA Standards Development Group (SDG-SA): SDGSAinfo@gmail.com National Governing Body (NGB): Craig Norris, craig@nctforest.com Forestry SA (FSA): Dr. John Scotcher, jscotcher@forestlore.co.za

REFERENCES: SDG-SA NEWS, 6 November 2015; http://saforestryonline. co.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/SDGnewsNov2015.pdf SDG-SA NEWS, 7 January 2016; www.saforestryonline. co.za/articles/2675/ Forestry South Africa (FSA) Newsletter, 4 April 2016; ‘Call for applications - Establishment of a National Governing Body (NGB)’

DECKING

DL Terrace...a play space for kids and adults Interior designer Martine Brisson designed a spacious, balanced patio for two people who share a deep passion for contemporary design.

This project won the award for best home terrace at Quebec's Grands Prix du Design 2015.

Article source: v2com | Photo credit: Marc Cramer

34

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

DECKING

M

aintaining harmony with the architectural concept of the house, designed by architect Bernard Perreault, the terrace is an extension of the

interior.

The young homeowners wanted a space suitable for festive gatherings with friends as well as for family relaxation. They required a full outdoor kitchen, a dining room, and a play area for children. It was also important to continue making the most of the existing swimming pool, which enjoys ample sunlight.

The large cedar pergola is the centrepiece of the understated, contrasting design. The pergola’s shades, hanging from a custom-made aluminium structure, reduce the intensity of the sun while creating a play of ephemeral lines and diffusing light in golden hues. Slats on the side provide privacy and a structure for climbing plants. The pergola’s warm colours contrast with the lighter tones of the weathered wood floor.

Boards were reclaimed as finishing materials for the kitchen, resulting in subtle and effective integration coordinated with the stainless steel finish of the appliances.

Two back-to-back banquettes, one in lighter wood, are designed as a single piece and form the space’s central element. On one side, people sit down to eat, while the other side is geared towards play and relaxation. The banquette includes integrated storage. One side of the seat is covered in slate to add a playful aspect and allow children to use the space.

The pool echoes the lengthwise spread of the patio, meshing with the house’s linear architecture. The required safety fence is made entirely of glass, preserving the space’s fluidity. After dark, the pool becomes a beacon, casting a bluish light that gives the area a theatrical, soft ambiance – perfect for long, relaxing evenings among friends.

From her artistic and creative experiences, Brisson has cultivated a taste for simple, human-oriented spaces.

“Rather than strike the imagination,” she notes, “a space has to make people feel good.”

For more information, visit martinebrisson.ca.

PROJECT DETAILS HOUSE DESIGN: Bernard Perreault, Architect TERRACE DESIGN: Martine Brisson, Interior designer CHAIRS: Perez HANGING LIGHTS: Homier Luminaire CUSHIONS: Jamais Assez PHOTO CREDIT: Marc Cramer

// JUNE / JULY 2016

35

INDUSTRY NEWS

The Wood Foundation shelved Timber iQ was sad to learn of the shelving of The Wood Foundation® (TWF).

F

orestry SA has reported a decision by The Wood Foundation® to go ahead and apply for shelving, made during the Foundation’s annual general meeting held at the end of April. Shelving is not the same as closing down – it will allow the Foundation to continue using its logo in the hopes that it will be reinstated to full operational status at a future point.

lacks the financial backing and full-time management drive necessary for its efforts to have a meaningful impact. After concluding that these circumstances would not change in the near future but will continue to affect the Foundation’s ability to adequately fulfil its mandate, the difficult decision to be shelved was made (rather than operating in a virtual state of dormancy or closing down completely).

The Wood Foundation® set out to campaign for forestry and wood, working on behalf of the entire South African timber supply chain in promoting the application of wood as a sustainable building material within the construction sector and supporting those manufacturing sectors tied to wood products.

The Foundation remains hopeful that circumstances will change in the future so that it can be revitalized.

Unfortunately, despite being supported by other industry associations and their members, The Wood Foundation®

Source: Forestry SA

For more information, visit www.thewoodfoundation.co.za or send an email to info@thewoodfoundation.co.za.

DON’T screw up your deck!

Finally, there is a product which allows the wood to be the focus of your deck and not unsightly screws.

Safe and smooth screw-free deck surface

021 856 4334

Outstanding hold-down power

071 364 6335

No splitting, cupping, cracking or rotting deck boards

info@easyclip.co.za

Deck boards are easy to maintain due to a screw-free deck surface

www.easyclip.co.za facebook.com/easyclip

ADVERTORIAL

Taking the panic out of Chinese imports Roos Woodworking Machinery, agent for several international brands, is renowned for supplying quality pre-owned and reconditioned woodworking and sawmilling machinery.

But this year sees the company enhance its offering with some new choices.

A

fter considering and visiting various factories in China, including V-HOLD, REIGNMAC and YONGQIANG, Peter Roos and son Andrew Roos reported interesting findings – mainly that the machines are really of good quality. However, they required a satisfactory answer to their main concern of what to do should the machines need electrical or pneumatic repair.

Roos says that, although the East has been a worldwide supplier for many years and many big Chinese factories are producing exclusively for well known German or Italian brands with no concerns from the market, customers are naturally wary of buying a machine without the certainty of hassle-free repairs.

Roos found that Chinese machines are built the same way as European brands and feels that nothing will easily go wrong with their steel or mechanical parts.

He personally witnessed various Chinese factory production lines, including one that produces a full series of moulders and another that makes feeder stands – both for Italian brands. Yet he persisted in addressing the ease of repair and the problem of time delays when importing spare parts.

No reason to panic, he says – Roos Woodworking Machinery has it covered. Satisfied that the machines meet all prerequisites, Roos Woodworking Machinery confidently offers their customers new moulders from V-HOLD and REIGNMAC, and a new finger joint line by YONGQIANG. And this with the Roos assurance that all their machines will come with electrical starters from Telemecanique or Schneider, SKF or similarly good bearings, and Festo or other well known pneumatics. In addition, spares are available locally from agents in the main cities.

For more information, visit www.rooswoodmac.co.za.

Roos Woodworking Machinery was started in 1982 in Kya Sand (Randburg)

by Peter Roos, and has since expanded to a thriving business that supplies Southern Africa with a large variety of woodworking and sawmilling machinery.

We therefore have confidence that our many years of experience in the machinery industry will add the vital ingredient to your success in a rapidly changing industry.

CONTACT US Home / office: Sales: Andrew Roos Workshop: Teun Roos CEO: Peter Roos

032 481 5812 082 756 5067 073 926 5816 072 395 8009

info@rooswoodmac.co.za andrew@rooswoodmac.co.za teun@rooswoodmac.co.za peter@rooswoodmac.co.za

KZN, Mission KwaSizabantu, R74, Kranskop area

WE ARE AGENTS FOR THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES

www.rooswoodmac.co.za

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

The world's tallest wood building The splendid Brock Commons will soon be the tallest wood building in the world. Following construction of its two free-standing concrete cores, the mass wood structure will be erected next.

All images courtesy of: Acton Ostry Architects Inc.

C

onstruction of the 18-storey Brock Commons Student Residence at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, got under way in November 2015. When completed in the summer of 2017, the 53m-tall high-rise building will provide housing for 404 students and be the tallest mass wood hybrid building in the world.

A key mandate for the innovative project is to demonstrate the viability of mass wood structures for British Columbia’s development and construction industries.

38

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

This has been achieved with a hybrid design that combines the benefits of mass wood and concrete to achieve an economical structural system that is comparable in cost to that of traditional all concrete and steel structures.

STRUCTURAL SYSTEM The hybrid structural system is comprised of a one-storey concrete podium, two concrete cores, and 17 storeys of mass timber – topped with a prefabricated steel beam and metal deck roof. Vertical loads are carried by the timber structure, while the two concrete cores provide lateral stability.

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

Glulam columns with steel connectors provide a direct load transfer between the columns and support 5-ply CLT (crosslaminated timber) panels on a 2.85m x 4.0m grid that acts as a two-way slab diaphragm – similar to a concrete flat-plate slab.

The robust structure will be the first in British Columbia to be built to meet new seismic design requirements in terms of the 2015 National Building Code of Canada.

PREFABRICATED FAÇADE

May 2016 concrete construction.

The prefabricated façade is made up of 8m-long steel stud frame sections with pre-installed windows. The cladding is high-pressure laminated panels consisting of 70% woodbased fibres that will be arranged to create a pattern of blonde wood and charcoal-coloured vertical striations.

Glazing wraps the corners to dematerialize the edges, and a metal cornice crowns the building. An extensive 58m-long CLT canopy runs the length of the building base, which is wrapped with curtain wall glazing and translucent blue glass spandrel panels.

It is projected that the prefabricated mass wood hybrid structure and façade will be erected at a rate of at least one floor per week, resulting in time savings for the overall construction process.

CONSTRUCTION STRATEGY July 2015 - erection of mass wood structural mock-up.

Built into the key design and construction strategy was the recognition that the level of prefabrication available in British Columbia is not as extensive as that which is available in Europe. However, the speed and skill of high-rise residential trade contractors in Vancouver is considerable.

In response, the design and construction approach takes best advantage of local prefabrication and subtrade capabilities.

Primary prefabricated components are the CLT slab panels, glulam columns, steel connectors, and the façade.

July 2015 - glulam columns and steel connectors for mock-up.

To test the speed and efficiency of the erection of the mass wood hybrid structural system, a full-scale, two-storey ‘proof of concept’ mock-up was constructed in July 2015. Erection of the structure went smoothly, and assembly proved to be faster than was initially projected.

Once the first few floors of the mass wood structure and the façade have been erected, work will begin on the building systems and components housed inside the superstructure.

Hybrid mass timber and concrete core structure.

Encapsulated structure.

CLT floor slabs with glulam columns and steel connectors.

Partial encapsulation during construction.

Completed construction.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

39

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

"Brock Commons will demonstrate that mass wood structures offer an economically viable alternative to concrete and steel, while providing a way to lessen the carbon footprint of the built environment."

-- Russell Acton, Principal - Acton Ostry Architects Inc. The mechanical, electrical and sprinkler systems will be similar to those used for other student resident buildings on the UBC campus.

SUSTAINABILITY Brock Commons has been designed to target LEED Gold Certification and to conform to ASHRAE 90.1-2010.

The building will connect to the UBC-district energy system and is projected to achieve up to 25% energy savings over a typical building of the same use.

Advances in wood technology and manufacturing make tall wood buildings not only possible, but also safe and costeffective. This while providing a way to lessen the carbon footprint of the built environment. In the case of Brock Commons, the carbon stored in the mass timber structure – plus avoided greenhouse gas emissions – results in a total estimated carbon benefit of 2,563 tonnes of CO2 . This is equivalent to taking 490 cars off the road for a year.

APPROVALS, PROCESSES AND FIRE SAFETY To facilitate the approvals process, strict fire protection methods were put in place for the project, arguably making it safer in terms of life safety than a comparable building with a traditional concrete or steel structure.

Since the mass wood structure is significantly higher than the six storeys currently permitted by the building code for wood buildings, the project required an SSR or Site Specific Regulation from the British Columbia Building Safety & Standards Branch.

With the project being the first of its kind, the structural and fire safety design utilized a conservative approach to facilitate the approval process to align with the project schedule. The SSR process included peer reviews that involved panels of leading structural engineers, fire safety experts, scientists, authorities and firefighters. Although construction of the first floor and cores could technically be constructed utilizing mass timber, concrete was used in the interest of familiarity regarding life safety, fire fighting and approvals processes.

The mass wood hybrid structure is encapsulated with multiple layers of gypsum board to achieve required fire resistance ratings and to facilitate the approvals process.

The majority of wood columns are located within demising

walls with a few stand-alone columns located at each end of the floor plate. For demonstration purposes, wood columns will be left exposed in a student amenity space located on the 18th floor.

Since the building is comprised of a series of repetitive, highly compartmentalized units, it is extremely likely that a fire event would be contained in the compartment in which it originated. To facilitate the approvals process, the typical one-hour fire separation between suites was increased to two hours.

An automatic sprinkler system with a backup water supply offers additional protection for occupants and firefighters for events that might originate during an earthquake.

FUTURE CODES Looking forward…once projects such as Brock Commons are completed, more testing of mass wood assemblies becomes available, and information from monitoring research programmes is analysed, it is anticipated that building codes for tall wood buildings will be revised and mass wood structures will become commonplace in British Columbia’s development and construction industries.

For more information, visit www.actonostry.ca.

PROJECT DETAILS OWNER: University of British Columbia COST: $51.5-million ARCHITECT: Acton Ostry Architects Inc. (Vancouver, BC) TALL WOOD ADVISOR: Architekten Hermann Kaufmann ZT GmbH (Austria) STRUCTURAL: Fast+Epp

FIRE SCIENCE/BUILDING CODE: GHL Consultants Ltd.

MECHANICAL/ELECTRICAL/SUSTAINABILITY: Stantec

VIRTUAL DESIGN MODELLING: Cadmakers Inc. ENERGY MODELLING: EnerSys Analytics Inc. ACOUSTICS: RWDI LANDSCAPE: Hapa Collaborative CIVIL: Kamps Engineering Limited GEOTECHNICAL: Geopacific Consultants Inc. CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT: Urban One Builders

PROJECT MANAGEMENT: UBC Properties Trust

40

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

LEADING ROOF TRUSS SYSTEM SUPPLIER IN SA AND THE WORLD

Prefabricated timber roof trusses

• Light Gauge Steel Trusses • Steel Wall Framing

eCo Fasteners® are timber and steel fastening devices that provide strong and rigid connections to any building structure.

A network of more than 190 licensed roof truss manufacturers across South Africa, provides a competitive and economic solution to even the most complex of roofing problems. This MiTek fabricator network, using MiTek’s state-of-the-art software programs, provides high quality, purposeengineered truss units to satisfy the need of an ever increasing complex roof market. The scope of MiTek’s services includes not only unrivalled expertise in terms of professional structural engineering service but also the extensive Research and Development into all aspects of timber and light gauge steel roof design and construction as well as a full range of manufacturing equipment - that makes MiTek a World Leader. creating the advantage World Leaders since 1956.

MiTek Park,754 16th Road, Randjespark, Ext. 34, Halfway House,1685. Midrand (Head Office) Tel: + 27(0) 11 237 8700 Cape Town Tel: 021 905 0244 • Durban Tel: 031 700 6332 • Port Elizabeth Tel: 041 581 7525 email: marketing@mitek.co.za • www.mii.com/southafrica *MiTek

Industries South Africa (Pty)Ltd, a division of the worldwide MiTek Group.

TIMBER TRUSSES

Class act As part of a group of co-educational and non-denominational international schools, Reddam House Somerset proudly upholds tradition by strongly reflecting contemporary international trends in education. When Rooftek Trusses took on the roofing project at this prestigious school, they committed to delivering a top-class result.

R

ooftek Trusses, based in Strand in the Western Cape, was asked to submit a tender for the newest addition to the Reddam group of schools, namely Reddam House Somerset in Somerset West. The project involved three sections, including the Early Learning School centre as well as the Junior Preparatory and Senior Preparatory facilities. The principal design concept was based on an existing Reddam House school that is located in Waterfall Estate in Midrand, Gauteng. After visiting that site and making a presentation to the principal agent, Rooftek Trusses was awarded the tender.

ENGINEERED DESIGN Although construction elements of Reddam House Somerset were largely based on the existing building in Midrand, the roof design parameters had to be adjusted to suit the Western Cape coastal conditions.

42

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

Due to the geographical location of the site, the impact of high winds on the roofs was another important aspect that had to be taken into account (a factor not as prevalent at the Midrand location).

The roof was designed in conjunction with the engineers at the Cape Town branch of MiTek Industries, who also inspected the installation of the roofs to make sure they met all the relevant standards.

This 3,500m² project had to be completed within a strict time schedule. Efficient project management was required to coordinate the various phases of manufacture and installation of the roof structure, which included exposed walkways, standard truss runs, as well as the highlight of the project: a 20-metre exposed, vaulted ceiling featuring nail-plated MiTek trusses spanning over the school hall.

TIMBER TRUSSES

These trusses differed from the previous school’s design and were designed with the intention of adding some panache to an otherwise ‘ordinary’ school roof.

The hall trusses were done as single-section trusses, manufactured at Rooftek’s premises and transported to site, ready to be installed. With each truss made from 76 x 228mm SAP S5 CCA-treated timber and weighing in at approximately 550kg, the manufacture, successful transportation and installation of these 4.8m-high trusses was by no means a small feat. And with the strict deadlines of this project, the procurement of the timber for these abnormal trusses also had to be well managed to prevent any delays.

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

The trusses were designed in such a way that they only transferred vertical loads onto the concrete beams on which they were supported. All horizontal stresses were taken in by the timber and nail plates. Special attention was thus paid to the large forces (+-25kN) that built up in the members of these hall trusses, especially at the ‘bigger than normal’ joints. Sufficient coverage by the MiTek M20 nail plates of the joints was critical to the handling as well as the structural integrity of these large-scale trusses.

The end product is a school of international standards, built by specialists of the same standard.

For more information, visit www.rooftek.co.za.

PROJECT DETAILS PROJECT: Reddam House Somerset (School in Somerset West, Western Cape ) CLIENT: Century Property Developments CONTRACTOR: Rémey Construction (Pty) Ltd. (Stellenbosch) SUBCONTRACTOR: Rooftek Trusses (Strand) ENGINEERING AND DESIGN INPUT: MiTek Industries (Cape Town Branch) TIMBER USED: SAP S5 CCA-treated

// JUNE / JULY 2016

43

TEL : 021 845 5551 • FAX : 021 845 5556

www.ROOFTEK.co.za KALAHARI BRUWER

kalahari@rooftek.co.za 083 458 7122

TIMBER WORKSHOP

Unlock the potential of timber

Photograph by Jeff Sheldon

By virtue of the sheer beauty of timber, you can secure a masterpiece by designing, manufacturing and constructing a timber roof structure.

The team at Wolf Professional Services knows this, and that is why the company offers a 'must-attend' workshop especially for our industry.

Information provided by: Wolf Professional Services

D

espite its inherent aesthetic qualities, over time timber has become ‘forgotten’ as a preferred building material of choice. That is largely because, for many years, the built environment remained primarily focused on concrete and steel as the ‘only’ construction materials for commercial and public buildings.

Undoubtedly, architects and engineers were more confident working with these traditional construction materials, and timber was seen as a product more suited to smaller projects like residential developments. The question can be asked: Was this due to a lack of confidence in the product, or due to a lack of knowledge?

A LOOK BACK AT TIMBER TRUSSES The timber trusses that we commonly see today comprise of a framework of triangulated construction timber joined together with galvanized steel connector plates (also called truss plates).

44

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

While the shape of roof trusses has not changed over the years, the manufacturing process has, as has the span possibilities.

The truss shape has been in use ever since man started using pieces of logs and, later, sawn lumber. In more modern times, the first light wood frame trusses were built on a construction site, using nails or plywood gusset plates at the connections. In 1952, in Pompano Beach in Florida, USA, the metal plate connected engineered wood truss was invented and patented by A. Carroll Sanford, founder of Sanford Industries. This roof system proved to be faster and more cost-effective than earlier practices, utilizing less material and labour.

TIMBER ROOF TRUSSES TODAY Today, timber trusses’ high strength-to-weight ratio permits long spans, which in turn offer greater flexibility in roof plan layouts.

TIMBER WORKSHOP

They can be designed in almost any shape or size, restricted only by manufacturing capabilities, shipping limitations and handling considerations.

The design and manufacture of metal plate connected wood trusses in modern truss operations are achieved with computer-aided design packages. In the design, the computerization of the process takes over. Common standard engineering principles, along with building code requirements, roofing material, ceiling, wind and snow loads, as well as any extraordinary loading or stress conditions, are all taken into consideration at the design stage.

An engineering-analysed drawing is produced by computer, detailing the forces that develop in each member under the given design loads. Rational-designed members also include the timber truss dimensions, timber sizes, and the grade for each cord and web. The plate size and orientation of each metal connector plate is precisely specified, as is the location of permanent bracing.

The truss manufacturer supplies the construction drawings to the architect, engineer, and building contractor. The contractor responsible for carpentry is also responsible for the placement of the timber trusses. To ensure that the structure will be sound and safe, the trusses must be erected in strict accordance with the construction drawings.

THERE IS MORE TO LEARN Wolf Professional Services has developed a special workshop with the aim of securing renewed confidence in timber as a construction material of choice, with specific reference to correct design procedures and the applicable requirements to comply with all necessary standards. All participants in the timber and building industries stand to benefit from the practical information that will be shared.

Wolf Professional Services is an approved CPD Provider in accordance with the ECSA (Engineering Council of South Africa) requirements for this type of educational activity.

Upon completion of the Timber Roof Structure Workshop, attendees will be credited with two CPD points from SAICE (The South African Institution of Civil Engineering) in terms of the ECSA standards.

All speakers are specialists in their respective fields and deliver up-to-date information on the latest developments and technologies being utilized within the timber industry.

TIMBER ROOF STRUCTURE WORKSHOP For: Timber Designers, Architects, Engineers, Contractors and All Persons Involved in the Timber and Building Industries.

2-DAY WORKSHOP: CONTENT

TRUSS MANUFACTURING In South Africa there are four truss systems that manufacture metal plate connectors and ancillary materials. Each system has its own design software.

The strength and integrity of a roof truss depends on the integrity of its metal plate connectors. Timber trusses are manufactured from pine softwood or BILIGOM® hardwood, available in various profiles and grades.

Typically, the truss frame manufacturing process starts by carefully cutting optimally thick members so that they are exactly the specified length and have the exact, correct angles at the ends. Many roof truss manufacturers use computer-driven saws that produce multiple cuts quickly and precisely. The size and the grade of timber for each member on the cutting bill is based on the magnitude of force that each must resist while under potential maximum design load.

The storage and handling of a timber truss as a construction material is an important factor in the overall quality of the finished product. Improper handling during delivery and/or installation is the most frequently cited reason for failure of the wood floor or roof truss system.

1. National Building Regulations & NHBRC 2. Timber as Construction Material 3. Standards, Grading and Quality Assurance (SATAS) 4. Deterioration of Wood (SAWPA) 5. Wood Preservation Treatment (SAWPA) 6. Timber Design – SANS10163 7. Fasteners and Connections 8. High-Risk Truss Configurations 9. Different Connector Plate Manufacturers in SA 10. Understanding System Engineering Calculations 11. Self-Manufacture Trusses to SANS10400 - Part L 12. Indemnity and Liability (Amfin Brokers) 13. Truss System (Multinail SA) 14. Understanding the Bracing Rules: SANS10243 and SANS10400 - Part L 15. Worked Example – Bracing Design 16. Causes/Opportunities for Truss Failures 17. Anchor and Fastening Systems (Simpson Strong –Tie) 18. Guidance on Roof Inspections

REMAINING 2016 DATES AND VENUES • 18 - 19 August 2016: Centurion, Gauteng • 27 - 28 October 2016: Salt Rock, KZN For more information, visit the Wolf Professional Services website at www.wolfpro.co.za or contact Renée Wolfaardt on cellular number 082 304 7006.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

45

TIMBER ART

Serpentine Summer House 2016 designed by Barkow Leibinger; (10 June – 9 October); Photos © Iwan Baan.

Serpentine Summer House 2016 Ever since it opened in 1970, the Serpentine Gallery in London has been championing new ideas in contemporary art. Pioneering exhibitions of 2,263 artists have been shown over the years, reflecting a wide range of work - from emerging practitioners to the most internationally recognized artists and architects of our time.

F

our architects have each unveiled a Summer House at London's Serpentine Gallery, to accompany the Bjarke Ingels-designed Serpentine Gallery Pavilion – an “unzipped wall” of hollow fibreglass bricks.

The results are a version of the building turned inside out, a maze of modular wire frames, a secluded courtyard designed to reflect sunlight, and a structure made out of curving timber (featured here) that offers a different perspective from every angle.

The Serpentine Gallery Summer Houses are open to the public from 10 June to 9 October 2016.

46

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

ARCHTECTS' STATEMENT Queen Caroline’s Temple, an eighteenth-century historical ‘summer house’ attributed to William Kent and situated in the proximity of the Serpentine Gallery, stands – seemingly without purpose – facing a large meadow. A second Pavilion, today extinct, also designed by Kent, was situated on a nearby man-made mountain constructed from the dredging of the artificial The Long Water. This small pavilion rotated mechanically 360 degrees at the top of the hill, offering various panoramic views of the park and, reciprocally, different views of itself when seen from the park. It was meant both to be visible in the park and a structure from which to survey its surroundings. The little mountain and house disappeared at some point in history.

TIMBER ART

With this absent structure in mind, we have designed a Summer House in-the-round.

Standing free with all its sides visible, and conceived as a series of undulating structural bands, it is reminiscent of a blind contour drawing (a drawing executed without lifting the pencil up from the paper and only looking at the subject). The logic of generating a structure from loops is a self-generating one and comes from the idea of coiling material in your hands then stacking the coils upon each other. The horizontal banding recalls the layered coursing of Queen Caroline’s Temple, despite its idiosyncratic nature.

The new Summer House is organized as four structural bands, beginning with a bench level attached to the ground, on which is a second band of three C-shaped walls crowned by a third and fourth level that forms a cantilevered roof, a tree-like canopy over the smaller footprint defined by the undulating loops of bench wood.

The Summer House is constructed from plywood and timber, materials intrinsically in harmony with the looping geometry of the structure.

Serpentine Summer House 2016 designed by Barkow Leibinger; Design render © Barkow Leibinger.

– Frank Barkow and Regine Leibinger, 2016 (Barkow Leibinger)

// JUNE / JULY 2016

47

COME AND EXPERIENCE THE EXCEPTIONAL POSSIBILITIES OF WOOD AS A MODERN BUILDING MATERIAL

Don’t miss our upcoming industry event! It will take place on the 17th August 2016 at the Expo Centre Nasrec, Johannesburg during Interbuild Africa 2016.

A varied programme has been put together for the upcoming event in Johannesburg, which promises to deliver the same quality information, knowledge, vision, insight and emotions that the Cape Town event has become known for.

Get inspired - join the first WOOD-CONFERENCE to take place in Johannesburg All professionals in the built environment are invited.

Location: Date: Registration: Price:

Black Eagle Venue, Expo Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa 17th August 2016 www.woodconference.co.za or www.interbuild.co.za R80.00 per Person For more information and applications, please contact:

www.woodconference.co.za

Zaida Davids +27 (0) 76 401 91 20 z.davids@hwzinternational.com RSVP by 10th August 2016

INDUSTRY EVENT

Expect a worldclass Interbuild Africa 2016

I

nterbuild Africa, one of the largest building and construction trade expos on the continent, provides an ideal platform for local and international brands to showcase their products to large, medium and small building contractors, buyers, and industry decision makers.

Visitors are encouraged to pre-register for free entry to the expo. Taking place from 17-20 August 2016 at the Expo Centre Nasrec in Johannesburg, Interbuild Africa and its co-located events (GlassExpo Africa, Plumbdrain Africa, Sani’ter, EcoAfribuild, Hardex Africa and the new Wood World SA) will include the widest range of building and construction innovations.

In addition to a packed seminar schedule, Interbuild Africa has partnered with several leading industry bodies to host a number of workshops and related events, including the HWZ International Wood Conference, the ITC-SA Awards evening, and conferences by the South African Institute of Architects (SAIA), the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors (ASAQS), and the Association of Architectural Aluminium Manufacturers of South Africa (AAAMSA).

Interbuild Africa 2016 will host some of the most renowned industry names. Ian Fuller Agencies (IFA), gracing the front cover of this issue of Timber iQ, is celebrating 30 years as a leading South African stockist and supplier of quality hardwood and board from around the world. IFA will be displaying all its latest products, ranging from spruce beams and spruce rough sawn timber to exotic hardwoods, flooring and exterior cladding. Thanks to its relationships with international suppliers, IFA is able to offer world-class products and service.

Interbuild Africa 2016 offers a not-to-be-missed opportunity to experience the best offerings from a diverse range of exhibitors.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Visitors: Pre-register online at www.interbuild.co.za to avoid queues at the exhibition.

Prospective exhibitors: To book a stand or discuss a sponsorship package, call Roz Nash (Exhibition Manager) on +27 (0)10 003 3072 or email roz@specialised.com.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

49

ITC-SA EVENT

Rewarding excellence:

ITC-SA Timber Engineered Product Awards The ITC-SA (Institute for Timber Construction), South Africa's professional regulatory body for the engineered timber structure industry and provider of design, manufacturing, erection, inspection and certification for compliance, will host its Annual Timber Engineered Product Awards on 19 August 2016.

T

he event will celebrate and honour exceptional work

by ITC-SA members in the structural timber industry, including roofing, decking and timber frame construction. Project submissions will be judged against specific criteria set out in the competition rules and will be assessed by a professional panel of judges.

Lyndsay Cotton, Chairman of the ITC-SA, says, “The Institute of Timber Frame Builders (ITFB), which was incorporated into the ITC-SA three years ago, had a fantastic tradition of hosting its awards to celebrate superior workmanship in the timber construction field. We are delighted to continue this tradition in the ITC-SA and look forward to adding a roofing category to this prestigious event.”

The ITC-SA Annual Timber Engineered Product Awards will be hosted at the Expo Centre Nasrec in Johannesburg during Interbuild Africa 2016, where the Institute will also be exhibiting.

A formal invitation to the event will be issued in due course.

For more information, contact Jenni de Waal on 021 845 4435 or at jenni@itc-sa.org.

...it is the product that counts

Redefining your choice.

Yes, we offer sound advice, wide variety, great service and value-for-money but we offer something more! Handles Inc. source, import and distribute the very best in international brands because when all the hype is said and done it is the product that counts.

Handles Inc are specialists in: Imported Handles, Home Accessories and Ironmongery.

Cape Town. 021 422 2322 • JHB. 011 325 2555 • KZN. 031 584 6649 • Somerset West. 021 850 0047 • Tygervalley. 021 910 2255

SOMERSET WEST RELOCATED to BIGGER STORE: 3 Cyclonite Street.

www.handlesinc.co.za

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

Don't underestimate small timber projects The HoHo Vienna project in Austria is set to become its tallest wooden skyscraper ever. Two large hospitals in Canada used a high percentage of timber in the interior as well as the exterior of the buildings to provide patients and doctors with a less stressful environment. These are big, impressive projects. But don't underestimate the impact of smaller timber builds, says HWZ International.

Article by: Klรกra Popovovรก

Small, modern timber units that utilize SA pine and NOVASPRUCE prefabricated CLT spruce panels, by architect Mano Kalos.

W

ood is increasingly being used not only as a quality building material and interesting element of design, but also as an element connecting the interiors of buildings with nature, offering, at least partially, its positive influence.

WOOD REDUCES STRESS A recent study by the University of British Columbia and FPInnovations examined the influence of wood on human health. It has by now been confirmed that being surrounded by nature helps decrease stress levels, blood pressure, the frequency of heart problems, and aggression.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

53

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

This study, however, proved that the mere presence of wooden surfaces indoors helps to decrease the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for the human body’s reaction to stress. Since we spend around 88% of the day inside all kinds of buildings, the incorporation of wood into them is the easiest way to make use of this fantastic material’s salubrious influence.

The calming effects of wood on the human body have been taken into consideration not only in the aforementioned Canadian hospitals’ decision to use timber extensively, but also during the call for tenders for the construction of office buildings in Germany and Austria.

And in the South African context, architect Mano Kalos also works with the idea. He has used a combination of South African pine timber frame construction and NOVASPRUCE prefabricated CLT (cross-laminated timber) spruce panels in the interior of one of his recent projects, being small, modern wooden units. In the case of the fully wooden walls, he considered not only the design and sustainability aspect, but also an element he himself describes as a “warm, homely feel.”

One of the buildings is used as a therapy office, making full use of the positive effect of wood on human health. Even though the wooden walls are painted white, they retain their typical plasticity, leaving the structures of the wood slightly exposed. This creates not only an interesting design element, but also connects them to their outdoor surroundings.

Solid Wood Bush unit by Rustic Timber and MC Frames.

Also in South Africa, young architect Ales Makovy found an even more unusual way of using wood. He designed the HWZ International SA stand for the upcoming Interbuild Africa 2016 fair in Johannesburg. Makovy utilized the pleasant, calming feeling wooden surfaces have, in addition to their interesting construction possibilities. One of the basic elements of his design is the hexagonal motif, which appears in the chemical formula for cellulose – one of the basic building units of wood.

The question remains, of course, as to whether a single wooden object in the middle of a busy fair will provide the same stress relief and help visitors to experience the “warm, homely feel” that Mano Kalos describes. This is what we would like to find out at the Interbuild fair. We would also like, in this slightly unusual environment, to confirm the premise of the study conducted by the University of British Columbia and FPInnovations.

We are certain that minor wooden buildings deserve our attention just as much as big projects, which are intriguing in their scope or social influence. Because it’s not the unique wooden skyscraper in Vienna, but precisely these small buildings that are part of our everyday lives, and where we spend 88% of our days – be they houses, offices, or garden sheds.

For more information, visit www.hwzinternationalsa.co.za or follow HWZ International’s Facebook page.

54

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

The HWZ International SA stand for the upcoming Interbuild Africa 2016 expo, by architect Ales Makovy.

Not all gloss is the same ‌ time to reflect on your choice? www.egger.com/perfectsense

The PerfectSense collections are a range of high-gloss and matt decor boards in premium designs. PerfectSense Gloss has a real mirror finish with a tough, smooth and flawless surface, and clearly stands out among other high-gloss surfaces.

Order your sample now at info-sjo@egger.com.

TIMBER DESIGN

TIMBER DESIGN

Firmly rooted A large rooted tree set the ground for an expansion to this centennial home in Montréal.

Article source: v2com | Photo credit: Adrien Williams

L

ocated in the Plateau Mont-Royal, this centennial home welcomed a family who wished to breathe new life into their space while establishing a new-found dialogue with the surrounding environment.

The architectural firm that took on the assignment, Microclimat, is a budding firm whose work ethos is grounded in the principle that architecture and the environment in which it evolves, are perpetually feeding one another.

Accordingly, with a vision to respect the home’s original character and preserve the large poplar tree rooted in the backyard, Microclimat designed a low-impact intervention for an addition that would occupy a small portion of the garden. This new space would blossom from the home through two new large openings in the existing brick wall.

A LOW-IMPACT INTERVENTION The expanded architecture, an intermediate area between the yard and the living quarters, offers a newfound flow of space and light in the home without compromising intimacy.

Through the fluid transition resides a sharp contrast between the modern addition and the home’s original design from 1885 – one that is further accentuated by the addition of a light steel staircase that serves as a filter between the interior and exterior spaces.

The staircase connects the spaces and allows a complete reorganization of the home’s original interior design, all while representing the verticality of the tree and thus reinforcing the relationship between the home and its roots.

Two sunrooms located near the new wooden windows of the refurbished space offer a comfortable reading space near the yard, providing the family with the opportunity to enjoy the surrounding environment year round.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

57

TIMBER DESIGN

A CANTILEVERED MEZZANINE Perched on the peak of the new space, the mezzanine is home to the master bedroom, with direct access to a new rooftop terrace. This mezzanine is cantilevered on both sides of the home and yard, floating quite literally over the neighbouring homes and minimizing the modifications made to the original structure.

The Hôtel-de-Ville residence shows the potential of considered architectural interventions to rethink the purpose of a space by establishing a new connection to its surroundings – in this case, the shared roots between a centennial home and a poplar tree.

For more information, visit www.microclimat.ca.

58

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

PROJECT DETAILS PROJECT: Hôtel-de-Ville Residence COMPLETION DATE: 2015 SQUARE FOOTAGE: 1,700ft 2 ARCHITECT: Architecture Microclimat STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Geniex GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Paquet construction urbaine PHOTOGRAPHER: Adrien Williams

NEW! COMPLETE

KNOCK DOWN STAIR STRINGERS AND TREADS COMBO

THREE SIMPLE STEPS FOR INSTALLING YOUR EXTERIOR STAIRS

3 1 2

MANUFACTURER AND SUPPLIER OF ALL MOULDED PINE TIMBER PRODUCTS:

Staircases, Flooring, Decking, Ceilings, Half Log Cladding, Solid Log Wall Systems, Balustrading, Handrails, Laminated Posts.

T&G HALF LOGS

SOLID LOG

HEAD OFFICE & FACTORY Physical: 8 Fechter Street Knysna Industria

Postal: PO Box 2385 Knysna, 6570

Cell Francois: 082 411 0513 Cell Brett: 082 553 2822 Cell Dean: 083 671 4999

Fax: 044 382 6358 Email: timbaclad@telkomsa.net

www.timbaclad.com

TREE RESEARCH

Photo credit - Morgan McBride

Surviving death from drought Massive tree die-offs due to drought have ravaged forests across the American West and left ecologists struggling to predict how and when tree deaths will happen, and how rising temperatures due to climate change might affect the health of forests. In a new study, a team that included Princeton University researchers has identified the traits that best protect trees against death from drought.

Article by: Kristin Qian, Class of 2018, for the Office of the Dean for Research. News provided courtesy of Princeton University Office of Communications.

P

ublished online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found that the species most resistant to drought are those that are better at withstanding stress to the water transport system — composed of internal pipes known as xylem — that carries water from the roots to the crown.

A better understanding of the susceptibility of trees to drought could help forestry experts create early warning systems and take precautionary steps, such as planting more resilient species or thinning overcrowded forests to reduce a forest's vulnerability to drought, the researchers say.

“We don't really know the future of forests in a changing climate,” says lead author William Anderegg, Associate Research Scholar with the Princeton Environmental Institute and Incoming Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of Utah. “Our results provide a foundation for improving our predictions of drought-induced tree mortality across earth's diverse forests.”

60

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

LIKE A HEART ATTACK FOR A TREE Trees normally pull water from the soil into their roots, and then up through their trunks to the leaves. Water inches up the xylem to replace water evaporating from the leaf surface. This pulling of water creates tension that Anderegg compares to a spring getting tauter and tauter as drought progresses.

When water is scarce, the trees have to pull much harder on the water in the xylem, which allows air bubbles to infiltrate the pipes. The bubbles cause blockages, or embolisms, that clog the pipes the way a blood clot blocks flow through an artery. The result, Anderegg says, is “like a heart attack for a tree.”

The study found that the ability to withstand this stress was more predictive of survival than other factors such as the overall amount of water lost through leaves and the depth of roots.

TREE RESEARCH Tree species with a larger “hydraulic safety margin” — measured by how well the trees can tolerate the tension from pulling water through the xylem — are better able to survive drought, explains Anderegg.

WOOD DENSITY A USEFUL TRAIT The team found that angiosperms (flowering trees) and gymnosperms (cone trees) were equally likely to die in drought. Among angiosperm species, wood density emerged as a useful predictive trait of drought survival, perhaps because trees with dense wood tend to have more armour around their xylem. Data for the study was obtained from dozens of published peer-reviewed scientific studies and the Xylem Functional Traits Database, which contains measurements of the hydraulic safety margins for each species as determined through laboratory experiments.

Anderegg designed the study in collaboration with Tamir Klein of the Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center, in Israel. Data and analytical tools were provided

by Adam Pellegrini, a Princeton graduate student of ecology and evolutionary biology; Lawren Sack, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California-Los Angeles; Megan Bartlett, a graduate student of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California-Los Angeles; Brendan Choat, Senior Lecturer at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University in Australia; and Steven Jansen, Professor of Botany at Ulm University in Germany.

The team collected information on drought-induced tree deaths from 33 individual studies performed around the globe, which included data on 475 species and more than 760,000 individual trees. They examined various forest environments, including tropical rainforests, temperate deciduous forests, evergreen forests and savannah woodlands. In all, the team investigated 10 physiological traits they deemed important for predicting mortality.

“We all know that the chances of a plant dying goes up when water becomes limited, but we’re unsure what the exact processes are inside the plant that cause death during drought – and we're even more unsure how to model those processes,” comments Williams, who was not involved in the work. “This new meta-analysis sheds important light on this issue by telling us that trees are more-or-less all sensitive to the same thing during drought — hydraulic failure.”

“When a tree is forced to work too hard to pull water out of soil, its ‘straws’ collapse, similarly to how a straw collapses if we work too hard to drink a milkshake,” Williams continues. “This paper agrees with other recently published research that indicates that if we can accurately model how hard trees are having to work to pull water from soil, this would improve our ability to model how likely they are to die during a drought.”

Todd Dawson, Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of California-Berkeley, says the research provides a holistic understanding of tree die-off at a time when global temperatures — and possibly drought conditions — are expected to rise.

“The paper adds a long-overdue global analysis to the ongoing discussion about the root causes leading to tree mortality across a wide range of trees,” says Dawson, who is familiar with the research but was not involved in it.

“Unfortunately, as the climate warms and extreme droughts and heat waves increase, I fear that we will be adding more examples and numbers to the database Bill Anderegg and his co-authors report in their important paper.”

One limitation of the study is that it did not compare the same species of trees in different regions, which could lead to some missed variations in drought response. The next step will be to understand how variable these droughtprotective traits are within the same species in different regions.

The study may help predict how drought-induced tree mortality fits into models of future climate change, Anderegg says. Although rising CO2 levels in the atmosphere can benefit tree growth, the associated rising temperatures can trigger droughts that kill trees, which in turn dampens CO2 removal from the atmosphere. The western United States has been a hotspot for die-offs in recent years, with forests facing danger in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Texas and California. According to Anderegg, recent estimates indicate that between 20 million to 60 million trees are dying from the current drought in California.

“We'd like to have a crystal ball to see the future of forests,” Anderegg reflects. “Right now we've got a very fuzzy and cracked ball that we're slowly trying to polish and get a better view.”

Park Williams, Assistant Research Professor at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, says the research reveals how it is that trees specific to a species succumb to drought, and how scientists can analyse that process to assess drought vulnerability.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); the Swiss National Fund Project; the European Union; the Australian Research Council; and the German Science Foundation.

CITATION “Meta-analysis reveals that hydraulic traits explain crossspecies patterns of drought-induced tree mortality across the globe.” — Published online in-advance-of-print the week of 18 April 2016 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

61

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

© Helmut Pierer

A befitting residential care home

This welcoming care home 'Andritz' for 105 elderly residents, by Dietger Wissounig Architekten, has been constructed on Stattegger Strasse in Graz, Austria, on a park-like plot in the immediate vicinity of the Andritzbach brook.

T

he passive house has no basement due to the challenging ground conditions and because of its location being within the Andritz flood zone. It is a composite construction and features controlled domestic ventilation. Load-bearing ceilings and walls are made of concrete while all other structural elements are wood. The façade elements, each extending across two rooms, were prefabricated, their size determined by the maximum dimensions suitable for transport.

The two-storey building consists of four wings arranged around a semi-public ‘village square,’ designed to host various events. This is also the location of the roofed vestibule, the central nurses’ station, an oratory, a cafe, a hairdresser, as well as an open, tended atrium.

62

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

Three residential areas on the ground floor and four on the top floor host one carer and 15 residents each, primarily in single rooms, thereby creating a manageable and friendly atmosphere.

A large common living area for each residential group, wide loggias and zoned gardens (some of which are suitable for dementia patients) on the ground floor, and atria with tower galleries on the top floor, all serve as additional living zones. Special attention has been paid to ensure that sufficient natural light floods the entire building.

Nurses’ stations and secondary rooms are always nearby, making work processes highly efficient. Shorter and longer walks around the building with varying visual references and pleasant, quiet zones ensure diverse and free movement opportunities – even outside set therapy sessions.

TIMBER CONSTRUCTION

© Helmut Pierer The interweavement of the building with the outside space has been assigned particular significance. The green and open space was designed with the typology of the care home in mind and is based on a sequence of gardens which differ in size and character.

© Paul Ott

The gardens also form the passage into the park bordered by the Andritzbach to the east. A particularly attractive space for recreation has been created by designing a wooden platform that juts out over the water, which, together with the manifold zones of a manageable scale inside and around the building, generates a familiar yet invigorating atmosphere.

PROJECT DETAILS CLIENTS: Gemeinnützige Wohn- u.

Siedlungsgenossenschaft Ennstal reg.

Gen.m.b.H. Liezen ARCHITECT: Dietger Wissounig Architekten ZT GmbH TEAM: Dietger Wissounig, Bettina GossakKowalski, Patrick Steiner, DI Stephan Brugger, Vojka Mocnik, Thomas Wadl LANDSCAPE: Dietger Wissounig Architekten ZT GmbH LOCATION: Graz, Austria GROSS FLOOR AREA: 6,950m2 YEAR: 2015 PHOTOGRAPHS: © Helmut Pierer, © Paul Ott

© Paul Ott

// JUNE / JULY 2016

63

WOOD PRESERVATION

Eco-friendly garden solution for landscapers Nothing matches wood in versatility or appeal. Its warmth and natural beauty works wonders in creating a sense of balance and calm, making it the natural choice for landscapers and avid gardeners. But to maintain its appeal, the challenges of premature degradation due to wood rot and insects must be overcome with a wood preservation treatment.

W

hile wood preservation treatment methods are effective, many are under scrutiny for not conforming to international trends of reducing the carbon footprint. As a result, landscapers now find themselves faced with the dilemma of how to embrace the ‘green’ ecosensitive option while at the same time maintaining the natural aesthetics of wood. Leeroy Deane, co-owner of the Riversdale Tanalised® E Treatment Plant in the Western Cape, says there is a solution at hand.

“With eco-trends on the up, this is a real concern for landscapers – and a foremost consideration that is shared by gardeners who grow edible products in wooden planter boxes. The primary benefit of growing your own food is the knowledge that it is organic, which is a view shared by landscapers who want to create eco-sensitive ‘green’ gardens. It is for this reason that we have introduced products treated with the new generation Tanalith® E wood preservative, as it embraces this same eco-sensitive ethos,” Deane explains.

Tanalised® E wood products have been awarded the Ecospecifier Global certification, which means the product has undergone rigorous assessments that have verified it as a global environmentally preferable product.

Deane, who is also the co-owner of The Pole Yard, a leading manufacturer of landscaping products, says that environmentally discerning landscapers are becoming increasingly concerned about choosing wood treated products that tick all the ‘green’ boxes while still delivering on quality assurance and longevity.

Tanalith® E wood preservative treated planter boxes are perfect for the urban home enthusiast.

H4 HAZARD CLASSIFICATION Tanalised® E wood is pressure treated up to the H4 hazard classification, which means it is protected for use in permanent ground contact applications. This classification covers products such as landscaping sleepers, non-structural retaining walls, garden edges, fence posts and planter boxes.

While the United States, Europe and Australia have placed restrictions on certain traditional wood treatments, Tanalised® E wood preservative has proven to be the preferred global solution by conforming to international directives related to environmental responsibility.

Locally, this means that landscapers can embrace the Tanalised® E wood preservative as the choice product of the future when it comes to maintaining the beauty of wood without compromising the ethics of ‘green’ garden design.

64

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

The organic food movement is excited about timber raised-bed vegetable gardens treated with Tanalith® E wood preservative.

NEW @ The Pole Yard

www.poleyard.co.za

Tanalised® E Pressure Treated Wood is the trusted first choice for the discerning user in our rapidly changing environment ®

The only treated wood product in SA independently verified as contributing to achieving Green Building Rating Tool Credits Conforms to latest international directives regarding treated wood for close human contact Reduces impact on the environment due to the latest treatment plant technology

Poles • Timber • Fencing • Decking Jungle Gyms • Garden Furniture Garden Products

Noordhoek: (021) 789 2083 Retreat: (021) 701 8118 Paarden Eiland: (021) 510 4477 Vredenburg: (022) 719 1828

BRACKEN CHARCOAL Bracken Charcoal is a medium-sized producer, packer and exporter of a wide range of top quality wood charcoal products. Based in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, prime wattle growing area, we pride ourselves on the quality of our products and strive to nurture our em employees and care for our environment.

Vast majority of raw product sourced from FSC certified sources Wood is cooked rather than burnt to form charcoal, cutting down on harmful emissions This process also results in higher charcoal carbon content, which means Less charcoal needed Less smoke Easy to light, burns hotter and lasts longer than most hardwood charcoal Mix of black wattle species gives a delicate and pleasant flavour to food Excellent for slow cooking over low heat or hot grilling Phone: 074 127 4170 Cell: 060 712 7051 Fax: 086 298 4749 E-mail: bc@brackentimbers.co.za Mr Colin Pillay, R33 Main Dundee Road P O Box 141, Greytown, 3250 Photo by: Serge Melki

TIMBER TREATMENT

Clear choice in timber preservation Since Arch Wood Protection's introduction of Vacsol® Azure® timber preservative to the South African market in 2012, it has extended its range of alternatives in wood preservation with an organic, solventbased product that is metal free and biodegradable.

W

ith a shifting emphasis on product reassurance, Vacsol® Azure® timber preservative ticks all the boxes with the Ecospecifier Global endorsement that it exhibits ecological and preferable health characteristics.

“We are constantly looking for opportunities to lead in the supply of wood protection products that meet the demands of our customers and ultimately the end user. By remaining focused on current and future industry trends, we are confident that Vacsol® Azure® timber preservative will add to our capacity to expand the globally recognized range of Tanalised® products in our local market,” says Doug Sayce, General Manager of Arch Wood Protection.

Since its launch four years ago, Vacsol® Azure® timber preservative has already made its mark as the first metalfree Light Organic Solvent Preservative (LOSP) that provides treated timber with greater dimensional stability than conventional water-borne wood preservative products. Furthermore, it is rated among the contributing products to the achievement of the Green Building rating tool credits.

WIDE-RANGING PROTECTION This tri-functional wood preservative contains advanced organic azole fungicides and a synthetic pyrethroid as an insecticide/termiticide for the effective protection of timber against fungal decay, woodborers and insect attack.

It is used to treat wood products in a vessel using a doublevacuum process to ensure that the wood preservative penetrates and is retained within the sapwood. Being metal free, it is biodegradable and regarded as safer than previous tin-based solvent wood preservatives.

Vacsol® Azure® timber preservative is best applied for the treatment of plywood, finger-jointed, laminated and engineered wood products. The preservation solution is a clear, amber-coloured liquid.

66

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

On application, it transforms wood to a beautiful, natural light-honey shade.

APPLICATIONS As a certified environmentally friendly product, it is perfectly suited to applications involving human contact.

These are identified as Hazard Class H2 (interior above ground) and H3 (exterior above ground) applications such as: • Ceilings • Balconies and decks • Internal cladding • Flooring • Laminated beams • Thatching poles • Laths and wood features In H3 applications, it is highly recommended that the treated timber is coated with a water repellent penetrating sealant after installation.

For more information, visit www.tanalised.co.za.

Verified for Green Building Rating Treatment with TANALITHÂŽ E wood preservative has been third party verified as likely to contribute to the achievement of Green Building rating tool credits by Ecospecifier Global.

TANALISEDÂŽ E pressure treated wood can now be specified in Green Star Rated building projects.

Arch Wood Protection a Lonza company

16 Indus Road, Marburg, Port Shepstone, PO Box 54344, Marburg 4252, South Africa.

Tel: +27 (0)39 682 6019 Fax: +27 (0)39 682 6022 Email: info@tanalised.co.za

Find out more at www.tanalised.co.za

TIMBER ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE

Distinguished symbol of Paris The Claude Bernard overpass, a sculpted, linking structure on the Boulevard Périphérique between Paris and Aubervilliers, bears the distinctive stamp of the DVVD architecture, design and engineering agency. Well aligned with its environment, its curves have become a strong landmark in the changing panorama of the capital.

Article source: v2com

S

imple as a brushstroke and slender in form, the Claude Bernard overpass has been in service since 2 October 2015. The arched timber structure is nearly 100 metres in length and connects the Parc du Millénaire to the Claude Bernard urban development zone – the very embodiment of an emblematic site.

multi-mode transport hub, a park, and a shopping centre.

This developmental diversity dictated a fresh approach to the consideration of urban density, multi-functionality and compactness, further accentuated by an overall environmental approach consistent with the objectives of the climate action plan of the City of Paris.

In this rapidly-changing district, office blocks and residential buildings rub shoulders with a cinema, a nursing home, a nursery, a school, sports facilities, a

One change leads to another – a change in the status of the city ring road, now conceived as an urban boulevard.

68

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

TIMBER ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE

Photo credit: Luc Boegly ©

The scale of this challenge was therefore to support this local dynamic through the provision of an overpass. More than just a bridging structure, this needed to be a unifying and symbolic feature. This brief has been perfectly realized by the architects at the DVVD architecture, design and engineering agency.

TECHNICAL PROWESS A technical project such as an overpass involves constraints which are not run-of-the-mill. The requirement for the least possible disturbance to vehicle traffic, for example, dictated an unusual installation: Once the pilemounted abutments with their associated stairways were in place on either side, the central section, fully-fitted with its timber cladding and decking, was mounted on its permanent supports in, astonishingly, a single night. This arduous operation involved the deployment of a mobile crane of exceptionally high capacity, of a virtually unique type in Europe. This crane was positioned on the outer Boulevard Périphérique and fitted in record time with the numerous counterweights required to increase its loadbearing capacity.

It completed the lifting operation and then disappeared, allowing traffic to resume under a new crossing structure.

The installation of the walkway involved the simultaneous closure of carriageways on the inner and outer Boulevard Périphérique for three hours – an operation that had never been undertaken since its opening.

NATURAL AND EASY TO USE Pedestrians will instinctively use the broad-stepped stairways on either side of the overpass, or the landscaped ramps which offer easier access and the straightforward movement of traffic in both directions, for persons with reduced mobility, bikes or pushchairs. Midway across, more generously-dimensioned plots provide rest areas and panoramic viewpoints. Once above the Boulevard Périphérique, the structure is conceived as a unifying space which accommodates bikes and pedestrians alike, in an arrangement where everyone can rub shoulders without impeding each other. The rising curve of the walkway is matched by a variation in the planar profile of the decking, which allows a natural connection to be formed between the streets at either end, ensuring the continuity of both the landscape and the route employed.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

69

TIMBER ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE

TECHNICAL DATA SHEET CONTRACTING AUTHORITY: SEMAVIP ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, DESIGN: DVVD: Paula Castro, Céline Cerisier, Vincent Dominguez, Toma Dryjski, Bertrand Potel, Louis Ratajczak, Daniel Vaniche PROJECT MANAGER: Clément Carrière, Nicolas Didier CONTRACTORS: Segex/Razel-bec (structural works), Viry (metal framework), Agrigex (landscaping) BUDGET (DESIGN ANALYSES AND WORKS): 8,5 M € HT, 2012 values AREA: SPAN EXCLUDING RAMPS: 98 metres SPAN: 60 metres WIDTH: 4 metres STEELWORK: 120 tonnes SURFACE AREA: 392m2 TIMBER DECKING AND CLADDING: VARIETY: Solid oak ORIGIN: Ile-de-France CERTIFICATION: PEFC

Photo credit: Luc Boegly ©

A BALCONY OVER THE CITY

To reduce the height of the structure and its impact upon the landscape, the load-bearing structure has been conceived as two variable-inertia three-dimensional arches, which are concealed in the protective housing which serves as a safety barrier. This solution enhances the inertia of the structural beams and reduces weight.

The asymmetrical arrangement of the two structural arches breaks the monotony of the crossing – further highlighted by the pattern of the double-sided timber fretwork. At the centre of Boulevard Périphérique, the planks are taller and closer together, obstructing the harrowing views of the traffic six metres below.

Pedestrians are thus provided with an enclosed interior place, with greater protection from noise, speed or pollution.

Ultimately, this optimized structure has a weight of less than 270 tonnes, thereby saving raw materials, reducing the ecological impact of the structure, and allowing the latter to be lifted by crane.

Conversely, in the interest of transverse views from the Boulevard Périphérique and its borders, the more widelyspaced planking becomes transparent: the overpass is disembodied.

This design also allows the level of pedestrian traffic to be lowered by more than one metre. The structure is arranged on either side and not below the decking, resulting in a 20-metre ramp and six fewer steps on either side. Above all, a continuity in perspective is maintained from one side to the other, making the structure more urban in character and less imposing. The metal framework is concealed behind the protective timber cladding, which interacts with the light. Its transparency allows visual contact between pedestrians and drivers, while maintaining a degree of distance. This is a unique and identifiable design.

François Dagnaud, from the contracting authority SEMAVIP, commented on DVVD’s specification of timber, “In just a few years timber has become a fashionable material, with great promise for the future. The use of timber on this overpass makes complete sense, providing a warming presence and an anchoring point, making it possible to stroll just a few metres above the highway.

This material naturally softens the interruption generated by the Boulevard Périphérique, is perfectly integrated in its environment, and echoes both the linear forest and its own artistic installation.”

“The slatted timber cladding delivers the initial reassurance of visual density, followed by the surprise of its curvature, and ultimately its open views over the Boulevard Périphérique.” – Bertrand Potel

Its geometry, design and cladding make the Claude Bernard overpass an essential and key feature of this site, in both functional and symbolic terms. A capital structure.

TECHNOLOGY AND ARTISTRY

70

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

For more information, visit www.dvvd.fr.

FORESTRY RESEARCH

Forests respond to climate change A new study has revealed a growing synchrony in tree-ring width patterns, in response to global warming.

A

multidisciplinary research team consisting of Russian and Spanish researchers, with the additional participation of a researcher from the School of Forestry Engineering and Natural Resources at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM), has assessed the tree-ring width patterns of diverse conifer species in Spain and Siberia. The study shows the existence of an increase in spatial synchrony of ring-width patterns in both regions.

The findings are a warning of the impact of global warming on forest ecosystems at subcontinent scale.

Forests play a key role in the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems. One of the main uncertainties in global change predictions lies in how the spatiotemporal dynamics of forest productivity will be affected by global warming. Fortunately, we have registers of an indicator for biological responses to climate change impact, that being the sequence of tree ring dating.

The concept of spatial synchrony in tree growth refers to the extent of coincident changes in ring-width patterns among geographically disjunct tree populations. As Mar Génova, the UPM researcher, explained: “We aimed to verify whether this phenomenon was local or rather extended over large regions at subcontinent scale.” With this purpose, two very contrasting terrestrial ecosystems were selected, namely the “extremely cold continental taiga of Siberia, and the comparatively warm and dry Mediterranean montane forests.”

A total of 93 growth-ring chronologies of six different conifer species were used – 45 chronologies from central Siberia and 48 of diverse Iberian mountain systems. In order to manage the huge volume of data, a new methodological framework was developed.

This method is able to deal with large sets of ring-width sequences that date back several centuries. These new methods have allowed researchers to show the synchrony among growth patterns in coniferous forests (whose main limiting factor is cold, in the case of taiga; and drought, in the case of Mediterranean forests).

This unprecedented coherence at a large geographical scale in a recent past indicates that the growth synchrony among forests disjunctioned by almost 1,000km is quite similar to the trees inhabiting within a same forest mass.

This more synchronous growth of forests caused by the global warming is a global phenomenon too, but the particular mechanisms involved in every case are regionally dependent.

Particularly, these mechanisms are related to the increased drought stress at the end of spring in Spain, and with greater impact of year-to-year fluctuations of summer temperatures in Siberia. Besides, all this is related to an earlier start of wood formation, which has been proven to be induced by a warmer climate.

The increased synchrony in the tree-ring width can be useful to establish climatic thresholds for tree survival, as well as anticipating local and regional forest decay events.

CITATION Shestakova, T.A., Gutiérrez, E., Kirdyanov, A.V., Camarero, J.J., Génova, M., Knorre, A.A., Linares J.C., Resco De Dios, V., Sánchez-Salguero, R. & Voltas, J. (2016).

“Forests synchronize their growth in contrasting Eurasian regions in response to climate warming.”

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113 (3), 662-667.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

71

ADVERTORIAL

Eco Timber Traders timber trader of choice The warehouse is perfectly situated close to the N1, N12 and N14 highways, allowing for the effective distribution of products all throughout the Gauteng region. This includes the supply of timber in bulk or break bulk (small quantities), depending on customer requirements.

E

co Timber Traders was birthed in 2010 by Hans Schneemann and had its humble start in a small warehouse in Mahogany Ridge, Durban, KwaZuluNatal. The following year, Rob Chubb joined Hans as a partner. Their combined experience in the timber industry surpasses 40 years, and by applying their wealth of industry knowledge and expertise, they built up a great team of staff and acquired some excellent supply partners.

The result today is a fantastic timber company that specializes in the import and distribution of selectively sourced hardwoods, decking and plywood from all around the world.

NEW JOHANNESBURG BRANCH After enjoying five years of steady growth in Durban, the time came to expand by opening a branch in Gauteng. Rob relocated to Johannesburg in December 2015 to become the Managing Director of Eco Timber Traders Johannesburg, while Hans continues to serve as the Managing Director of the Durban branch.

The new Eco Timber Traders branch has been established in the West Rand, located just off Beyers Naude Drive in Unit 7, Citrus Industrial Park, Laser Park, Honeydew.

Eco Timber Traders – Johannesburg’s friendly sales team

72

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

Passion, knowledge, expertise, experience, teamwork and outstanding service all play an important role in Eco Timber Traders’ success, but added to these attributes, is a group of excellent international timber suppliers who have become their partners in ensuring a consistent, ongoing supply of quality hardwoods and plywood. Amongst this group is Bingaman Lumber from the USA, who agreed to Eco Timber Traders becoming their hardwood representative in South Africa. The quality of the American species supplied by Bingaman Lumber is of the best you will see in South Africa – and they are also known for the sustainability of their sawn lumber.

UNIQUE OFFERINGS Eco Timber Traders stocks a distinctive range of hardwoods and plywood consisting of most of the well known species, but which also includes some unique items such as: • Natural edged slabs in Walnut, French Oak, Matumi, Leadwood and Australian Blackwood • French Oak weathered cants • Sapelli Mahogany • High-end turning blocks: Ebony, Olive Wood, Chacate and Red Ivory • Birch Plywood: This product can be used for many different applications, from furniture to kitchen cabinets and shopfitting display units, etc.

“The Eco Timber Traders team looks forward to seeing you when you visit our well stocked branches in Durban or Johannesburg. We will help you find that special piece of timber for that amazing piece of furniture you want to make.” — Hans Schneemann and Rob Chubb

Hans Schneemann

Rob Chubb

Selectively sourced hardwoods from around the world

Kiaat | Mahogany | Teak | Rosewood | Oak | Walnut | Saligna | Meranti | Beech Specialising in Exotic Hardwoods - over 40 species available Range of plywoods, including Marine, Birch, Pine, Commercial and Exotic Order any volume from one plank to one bundle to a truck load of wood Supplied rough or machined to the customer’s requirements.

We support suppliers who offer FSC timber and timber sourced from well-managed, sustainable plantations.

Eco delivers throughout Kwazulu Natal and has opened a new branch in Johannesburg to service the Gauteng Region.

Durban

Johannesburg

14 Progress Rd New Germany

Unit 7 Citrus Industrial Park Citrus Street, Laser Park Honeydew

Tel: +27 (0)31 705 5546 Email Hans: hans@ecotimbertraders.co.za Br Browse: www.ecotimbertraders.co.za

Partnering with

Tel: +27 (0)11 7946330 Email Rob: rob@ecotimbertraders.co.za

WM_HalfPgHor_May2016_PR_C_New.pdf

1

2016/05/13

2:01 PM

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

THERE'S NOT MUCH MORE YOU CAN ASK OF A DOOR FinDoor is a moulded hollow core door that comes in a wide range of expertly selected colours, patterns, and designs.

FinDoor understands that consumers want stylish quality products at affordable prices.

2 Panel White

2 Panel Black

4 Panel White

Mahogany D/Curve

6 Panel White

D/Curve

6 Panel Townhouse

Chamonix Oak D/Curve

That's why we're certain that your customers will ask for FinDoor in your store and, more importantly, in their home.

Available in: • Masonite and medium density fibreboard • Standard door sizes 2032mm x 813mm x38mm

not all doors have to be made the same...

100% maintenance free

No varnish required

No sealers

If you’d like to know more about FinDoor and how you can stock it, contact us:

No paint

Preedip 072 424 7869 | Fahiem 082 786 9021 | Lewi 083 781 4146 | Office 039 684 1188 | info@findoors.co.za | www.findoors.co.za

SAWMILLING

A never-ending quest to improve efficiency Capio Lumber in Mpumalanga is constantly looking for ways to improve its mill efficiencies. By harnessing the strengths of WoodMizer's semi-industrial LT70 Remote band sawmill, this astute mill's efforts got a major boost.

Article by: Wood-Mizer Africa (Pty) Ltd

High quality structural timber produced by Capio Lumber, ready for shipment to customers.

S

outh Africa has about 1.3-million hectares (ha) of commercial timber plantations, of which roughly 520,146ha or 41% are found in Mpumalanga. In such an important timber supply region, competition is understandably rife between foresters and sawmillers.

Being able to grow timber better and produce sawn timber more efficiently is very often the factor that decides which grower or sawmiller remains standing for the next day’s trading. Capio Lumber’s entry into the marketplace in late 2012 was set against this tough, competitive backdrop.

The expertise of the Capio Lumber business partner team also gave the outfit a running start. Aside from being family-in-law, Ross Scorgie and Bruce Moxham both brought along formidable track records in the timber production arena. It was Scorgie who had grown the hardware enterprise which Capio Lumber had ties with, to a point where it could now sustain a sawmill. Better pricing and more product variety (resulting from opening the sawmill) added momentum to the hardware sales, which then benefited the sawmill.

Knowing that it was entering a keenly contested playing field, Capio Lumber held a few cards up its sleeve to make it competitive into the future. First, the sawmill made certain of the markets into which it could sell its products.

Furthermore, its established association with a hardware store provided a ready market for most of the structural timber that would be produced. Furniture and pallet manufacturers who liked Capio Lumber’s quality and pricing gave further momentum to its start-off.

Moxham’s exploits in the timber industry are legendary, having overseen a family-owned timber enterprise of considerable size that was eventually sold to a company listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. With their combined experience, the Capio Lumber management team had no problem selecting the right equipment that was needed to start and effectively compete in a tight market space.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

75

SAWMILLING

The LT70 Remote is the latest Wood-Mizer sawmill that has been commissioned at Capio Lumber.

A two-head HR500 resaw operating at Capio Lumber.

PRODUCTIVITY A PRIORITY

POWERED BY WOOD-MIZER LT70 REMOTE

Productivity was a top priority. Capio Lumber needed reliable equipment that could give them the output required to pay for the machines and grow the business.

But the purchase had to be affordable – they needed modular equipment that could slot into the existing mill infrastructure as, and when, finances became available.

Capio Lumber’s focus on productivity, affordability, low labour- and energy costs as well as maximum recovery, led them to choose the LT70 Remote as the right machine to grow the business further.

Another critical factor was easy-to-maintain equipment that could reduce the amount of manual labour needed to produce the expected output. Moreover, equipment with low energy costs and high recovery numbers, to ensure less waste so that more timber was available to sell, was also an important consideration — as was cutting quality.

In short, the sawmill needed equipment that would consistently produce precisely-sized sawn material with the best surface quality that required less secondary processing and that the market was prepared to pay a premium for. Wood-Mizer’s equipment range provided for all these requirements.

WOOD-MIZER FIRST CHOICE Capio Lumber’s first investment from Wood-Mizer included an LT20B Electric sawmill and SHR-F Resaw. Although the LT20 can cut logs into ready-to-sell timber, Capio Lumber smartly doubled their output by investing in the resaw: At a cost lower than a second sawmill, the resaw allowed the LT20B to only cut blocks, while the resaw cut the blocks into sawn boards and recovered waste that exited the sawmill. This approach, to find ways to increase output in the most inexpensive way possible, has remained a recurring theme in Capio Lumber’s growth to date.

Until recently, the mill’s equipment checklist included two Wood-Mizer LT20s (electric and diesel), an LT70 Electric with hydraulic log-handling capacity, an HR500 two-head resaw line, two SHR-F resaws, and an EG300 board edger.

But their never-ending quest to increase efficiencies brought about a January 2016 commissioning of a WoodMizer LT70 Remote to serve the mill.

76

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

The LT70 Remote, together with the LT70 Electric and the two LT20s, now serve as Capio Lumber’s primary breakdown mills. The LT70 Remote was developed as a semi-industrial sawmilling solution for sawmillers who have outgrown the capacity of the non-remote LT70 sawmill range but do not want to commit to the capital investment of a fully industrial sawmill like Wood-Mizer’s WM3500.

As business improves, it is easy to add another LT70 Remote (or even an LT300 sawmill) and expand with the addition of equipment, rather than buying one large-scale piece of equipment.

Other advantages of the easy-to-operate LT70 Remote include a main 18,5kW motor that permits the cutting of large diameter logs, and its synchronized functions that prevent ‘bottlenecks.’ The line can be customized to the demands of individual businesses and typically includes a log deck, incline conveyor, transfer table, edger multirip, and roller tables where needed.

A CUT ABOVE To remain price competitive while upgrading its mill for increased output to generate the profits needed to run the mill while also expanding, Capio Lumber had to be exceptionally vigilant about efficiencies. But in doing so, the mill has grown – despite challenging market conditions.

A large part of the team’s success can be attributed to their equipment selection strategy, which has enabled them to run a streamlined operation that is geared for long-term growth.

• Agents and merchants of imported and African timbers • Suppliers to Boat Builders, Joiners, Carvers, Furniture Manufacturers, Shopfitters, Cabinet Makers and Kitchen Manufacturers • We also supply direct to the public and cater for the hobbyist • Importers of Oak, Beech, Maple, Cherry, Teak, Meranti and many more • Over 60 species of timber in stock • Customers are welcome to come in and select their own timber • Solid T&G wood flooring and solid mouldings available • Machining Service: timber cut and planed to customer’s specifications • Bargain Bins and Turners Corner with new exotics in stock

CONTACT DETAILS:

CONTACT SALES

Tel: 021 5522631 Fax: 021 5522678 15 Second Street Montague Gardens

Mark Machattie: 083 234 6497 Leo Geel: 073 049 9435 Roy Purdham: 082 493 0211 Dylan Goodrum: 079 362 9169

Email: sales@countrywoods.co.za Website: www.countrywoods.co.za Like us on Facebook

INDUSTRY NEWS

10-Million cubic metre milestone UPM Plywood's Pellos mills, Europe's most prolific manufacturers of coniferous plywood, have crossed a significant milestone of 10-million cubic metres in all-time total production. The achievement is not only unique in Europe, it is rare on a worldwide scale.

A

n operation that began in 1964 as a small chipboard factory has expanded over the decades and today comprises three plywood mills, forming a worldclass plywood production unit.

“Pellos mills are clearly one of our main production units.

They account for about half of our total production capacity, and practically all of the spruce plywood production,” says Mika Kekki, Vice President of Production & Operations at UPM Plywood.

“The competition in the coniferous plywood sector is very tough. Still, Pellos mills have managed to establish themselves as the leading supplier to the European market.

This is thanks to their strong-minded development work and highly qualified personnel. In addition to technical development, working methods at the mills have been actively developed locally in cooperation with the staff,” continues Kekki.

UPM Pellos mills’ production efficiency has improved significantly over the past two decades. For example, the volume of production per hour worked has more than doubled. In recent years, special attention has been paid to improving safety at work. The number of accidents has fallen by more than 90% over the past five years.

Development of their safety, efficiency and working methods along with product quality will be a key part of securing the mills’ competitiveness in the future. More than 90% of the Pellos mills' production is exported.

Pellos products compete in the international market, where the most serious competitors come from clearly lower-cost countries, especially from South America.

• UPM Pellos plywood mills manufacture uncoated and coated spruce plywood and twin mixed plywood, mainly for various construction end uses.

• UPM Plywood manufactures high-quality WISA® plywood and veneer products, mainly for construction and transport industries, as well as the new thermoformable UPM Grada® wood material for the formpressing industry.

• UPM – The Biofore Company: Through the renewing of the bio- and forest industries, UPM is building a sustainable future across six business areas: UPM Biorefining, UPM Energy, UPM Raflatac, UPM Paper Asia, UPM Paper ENA and UPM Plywood.

CALL 0861 727 663 TO BOOK YOUR

IN NUMBERS AS OF 15 JUNE 2016

www.forestry.co.za Grow Your Business

with our definitive on-line directory for the forestry, sawmilling and forest product industry.

Contact Bronwyn Hayes: +27 21 712 1151 bronwyn@fevertreemedia.co.za

OVER 700 SUB-CATEGORIES

190,889 MILLION HA CERTIFIED

30,654 CoC CERTIFICATES

1,394 FM/CoC CERTIFICATES

CLASSIFIED ADVERT

CHOOSE THE CORRECT PRESERVATIVE TREATED TIMBER FOR YOUR END APPLICATION (H classes) H2 H3 H4 H5 H6

– – – – –

Low Hazard: Inside above ground Moderate Hazard: Outside above ground High Hazard: Outside in ground High Hazard: Outside in contact with heavy wet soil or in fresh water High Hazard: Prolonged immersion in sea water H2

H3

H4

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ANY ASPECT RELATED TO TREATED TIMBER PRODUCTS AND THE CORRECT USE OF TREATED TIMBER, OR WHERE TO CONTACT SAWPA MEMBERS, PLEASE CONTACT: Tel: 011 974 1061 sawpa@global.co.za www.sawpa.co.za

H5

H6

SAWMILLING

Don Gerardo does most of the Peterson milling.

Sawmilling on a whole new level

No clear-felling, no ugly scars to the landscape, no erosion, no dirty rivers, no messy roads or noisy trucks, and minimal disturbance to native plants and animals. Imagine a small, portable mill winched into a forest by cable...trees selected for sustainability, and only the sawn timber removed -- by hand. Yes, it can be done. EcoMadera in Ecuador is proof.

Original article provided by: Harris Sawing Equipment cc, courtesy of Peterson Portable Sawmills.

T

he sawmilling industry in Ecuador is very crude. The vast majority of lumber is milled free-hand, by chainsaw, in the forest. And while there are a few mills that produce boards, the majority manufacture plywood.

Within the Esmeraldas Province of Ecuador, you will find EcoMadera – a partially community-owned wood products business that started off with a clear goal to become fully established and sell engineered flooring, tropical lumber and balsa composites. Blair Rynearson is an employee at EcoMadera. Back in 2008, he says, one of the first requirements of the job was finding a way to improve on chainsaw milling in the forest. Here, he recounts how he was able to do that.

80

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

After intense research and the perusal of a lot of literature, the Peterson seemed like an obvious choice for EcoMadera’s needs. And so the company purchased a Peterson 27hp Kohler ATS (All Terrain Sawmill) with an 8” cut blade. At the time Rynearson was hired, the mill was still in its box.

It took a while for the project to get off the ground, so early milling was sporadic. But as time went by, the Peterson ATS machine was run much more intensely. Rynearson personally spent a lot of time at the milling sites, getting involved. “I really enjoy watching a log open up and seeing the individual character between and within species,” he says.

SAWMILLING

MAKING IT POSSIBLE EcoMadera uses the Peterson ATS mill in the Choco Wet Forest of NW Ecuador. It is a very wet forest with no real dry season: Total rainfall is between 4m and 5m per year.

The sawmill is first moved into a sawmilling site by boat, by hand, and by cable winch. When asked about the challenges of sawing in Ecuador, Rynearson explains: “Our operations are in a mountainous region of tropical forest. We have to cable in the sawmill for over 5km, while some of the steeper sites of more than 45 degrees require substantial chalking on the supports.”

Free-hand chainsaw milling in Ecuador.

“We have two Habeggar chainsaw winches that assist in hauling logs to the mill. We generally install a 60m section of ½" steel cable, drag logs into the corridor, and haul them partially suspended to be decked near the saw. We then cable all sawn timber out on 5km of cable broken into eight trams,” he continues.

Rynearson recalls how they were sawing to fill a container for a market test to be carried out in the USA, as many of their species were unknown to the international market. The request was for 4 and 5 1/4 quarter lumber at varying widths, with quarter sawing of unstable species. The team was considering field-sawing cants to be split on a resaw in the plant. The crew was sawing 2.5m sections, and the DBH could range from 40cm to 200cm, while the specific gravity could range from 0.2 to greater than 1.

Preparing the Peterson mill for cable transport.

The sawmill stays in a site until the team has harvested a radius around that site with a total area of roughly two hectares. “With our selective cutting system, this equates to approximately 4050 cubic metres of logs,” Rynearson says. The amount of logs dragged to the saw each day is highly dependent on the terrain and distance from the saw. Moving the short skyline takes a few hours. It is possible to saw between 2m3 and 4.5m3 of lumber per day in this manner, dependent on species.

“Once the timber is sawn, we cover it and try to keep it dry as much as possible. It is sprayed by knapsack with a chemical insecticide, Deltamethrin. It's a contact insecticide and works well as long as the wood is kept dry. It prevents ambrosia beetles and termites that attack green wood. If dry, it claims to last up to six months. Even so, we try to move the timber out of the forest in under three weeks. Back at the plant, we have a treatment and pre-drying facility,” notes Rynearson.

Sending the portable mill across a ravine.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

81

SAWMILLING

Back then, duties were split between the crew of five so that two people handled the felling, bucking, skidding and sawing, while two took charge of cabling the sawn timber out of the forest and one supervised. With the farm being a fourhour hike from their plant, the team was working 10-hour days with two hitches of nine days per month. To scale up operations and yield a harvest three to four times larger than what they started with, plans were put in place to buy a second saw.

A PERFECT FIT Rynearson explains why the Peterson mill turned out to work so well for EcoMadera.

“For our application, it’s perfect. Liquid soap in the cooling water helps with sticky resin and the blades perform well in hardwoods. The only modification we made later was to cut down the 5.7m rails in half for even easier transport. Plus I’d recommend the largest HP motor if you are intending to saw hardwoods frequently.”

“Our favourite feature of the Peterson has to be its portability. The motor and carriage can be easily disassembled into three lighter parts for transport.”

“We greatly appreciate the ease of breaking it down, hauling it in piece by piece, and establishing a new site. I really love the simplicity of sharpening and allround durability.”

Sapan Palo (Eschweilera pittieri)

Guayabillo (Eugenia spp)

Clavellin

THE TIMBERS OF ECUADOR The main timbers in Ecuador are pine and eucalyptus in the Sierra, and of course the classic neotropical timbers in the jungle.

Timbers in high demand include mahogany, Spanish cedar, Ipe and plywood peelers. High silica content in some species such as Tillo (Brosium Alicastrum), Varra Negra (Zygia spp), and Copal (Protium spp), makes for tough milling. EcoMadera has 30 hectares of balsa plantation, and Rynearson’s goal was to harvest more than 40 native species, most of which still had to develop an international market.

Rynearson explains: “EcoMadera’s primary focus is on responsible, long-term management of its forest. This means utilizing many species that are less than spectacular. Engineered flooring and similar products are a practical way to integrate these timbers. But that entails extensive wood testing and samples to judge the market in the USA. Two such species are the Sapan Palo and the Guayabillo, both attractive hardwoods suitable for flooring or craft furniture. A much darker timber is the Clavellin, which is locally known and used for instruments. Little documented information can be found on its properties, but it appears to be very heavy and very hard.”

Co-worker Don Gerardo Salinas, after milling his first log on the Peterson, had this to say: “This is way better than freehand chainsaw milling.”

A range of Peterson Portable Sawmills equipment is available in South Africa from Harris Sawing Equipment cc.

For more information on the EcoMadera operation, Blair Rynearson can be reached via email to blairrynearson@yahoo.com.

Blair Rynearson with quality timber destined for the USA.

82

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

TAYLORED FOR REAL MILLING MILLINGr cut

ou ofit y E L DDOOUUBBBLE yo ur pr DDOOU

JUNIOR PETERSON - A serious mill for a part-time sawyer

WINCH PRODUCTION FRAME - Portability meets versatility, a contractor’s mill

ALL TERRAIN SAWMILL - A mill for tough conditions DEDICATED WIDE SLABBER - Fill niche markets with beautiful live edge slabs

Sawblades & Sawmilling Equipment

HSE

AUTOMATED SWINGBLADE MILL - Commercial production for less effort

PERDIX

We’ve got the superior product that’s as efficient as it is robust, and after-sales assistance that’s more of a friendship than a service.”

– Kerris Browne CEO Peterson Portable Sawmills

HARRIS SAWING EQUIPMENT

011 496 1334

www.harrissawing.com Official Peterson Sawmilling Agents

Sawmills with the TOUGHEST sawblades for the ROUGHEST conditions

www.petersonsawmills.com

011 496-1334

peterson@harrissawing.com

TIMBER DESIGN

A place for personal renewal The Windhover Contemplative Center was named a finalist in the 4th Annual Architizer A+Awards in the Cultural: Religious Buildings and Memorials category. This year's awards, honouring the best architecture, spaces and products from across the globe, received thousands of entries from more than 95 countries.

Article source: v2com | Photo credit: Matthew Millman

T

he Windhover Contemplative Center, designed by Aidlin Darling Design, is a spiritual retreat on the Stanford campus to promote and inspire personal renewal. Using Nathan Oliveira’s meditative Windhover paintings as a vehicle, the centre provides a refuge from the intensity of daily life. It is intended for quiet reflection throughout the day for any Stanford student, faculty or staff member, as well as for members of the larger community.

84

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

Nathan Oliveira's renowned Windhover series is named after ‘The Windhover,’ a poem written by Gerard Manley Hopkins in 1877. The five paintings were inspired by kestrels swooping above the Stanford foothills. Oliveira felt the calming power of these works and believed they should hang together in a place set aside for contemplation. The Center is conceived of as a unification of art, landscape and architecture – to both replenish and invigorate the spirit.

TIMBER DESIGN

Finish materials and lighting are kept intentionally dark to focus the visitor’s attention on the paintings.

The sanctuary is located in the heart of the campus, adjacent to a natural oak grove. The extended progression to the building’s entry through a long private garden, sheltered from its surroundings by a line of tall bamboo, allows members of the Stanford community to shed the outside world before entering.

Within, the space opens fully to the oak grove to the east, with the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden beyond.

Louvred skylights wash the monumental paintings, 15 to 30 foot long, in natural light. The remaining space is kept intentionally dark to focus the visitor’s attention on the naturally highlighted paintings and the landscape beyond. Thick rammed earth walls and wood surfaces further heighten the visitor’s sensory experience acoustically, tactilely, olfactorily, as well as visually.

The courtyard provides visitors the ability to experience the adjacent oak grove within the protection of the three-sided courtyard.

Water, in conjunction with landscape, is used throughout as an aid for contemplation; fountains within the main gallery and the courtyard provide ambient sound while a still reflecting pool to the south reflects the surrounding trees. Exterior contemplation spaces are integrated into the use of the centre, allowing views to the natural surroundings as well as to the paintings within. From the oak grove to the east, visitors can view the paintings glowing within the centre without accessing the building, effectively creating a sanctuary for the Stanford community day and night.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

85

TIMBER DESIGN

To date, the project has received the following local, national and international recognition: • 2016 Honor Award, Interior Architecture, AIA – National Chapter • 2016 Honor Award, Society for College and University Planning & AIA Committee on Architecture for Education­ • 2016 Civic Trust Award Winner, Civic Trust Awards • 2016 Winner, Cultural Public Facilities, Terra Awards • 2016 Finalist, Cultural – Religious Buildings and Memorials, Architizer A+Awards • 2015 Award of Excellence, Architecture, Society of American Registered Architects • 2015 ‘Best of the Best’ Award, Society of American Registered Architects • 2015 Winner, Public Space Scheme, FX Interior Design Awards • 2015 Citation Award, Architecture, AIA – San Francisco Chapter • 2015 American Architecture Award, The Chicago Athenaeum • 2015 Honor Award, International Interior Design Association – Northern California Chapter • 2015 Best of Competition Winner, International Interior Design Association – National Chapter • 2015 Merit Award, Architecture, AIA – California Council • 2015 Winner, Institutional, International Interior Design Association – National Chapter • 2015 Merit Award, American Society of Landscape Architects – Northern California Chapter

86

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

View from the oak grove during daylight hours.

The annual Architizer A+Awards is the largest awards programme focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture and products. Its mission is to nurture the appreciation of meaningful architecture in the world and champion its potential for a positive impact on everyday life.

For more information, visit www.aidlindarlingdesign.com.

ECO-FURNITURE

Eco-furniture for our children It was a happy day for Theu-Theu Primary School in Pixley ka Seme Municipality in Volksrust, Mpumalanga, when Environmental Affairs Deputy Minister Barbara Thomson recently handed over eco-furniture desks to learners. The desks were manufactured from timber obtained during the clearing of alien invasive plants at the Department of Environmental Affairs' Working for Water ecofurniture factory in KwaZulu-Natal.

“As the environmental sector, we must input into the shaping and moulding of these future leaders so that the caring for and management of our environment becomes important considerations in their minds,” Deputy Minister Thomson said.

The handover was in response to an earlier plea made by the school principal for school desks and uniforms for learners who come from poor backgrounds. Deputy Minister Thomson handed over 60 desks to the school, as well as school uniforms to 25 learners and 1,185 school bags with stationery.

ownership and management of our natural and cultural resources,” said Deputy Minister Thomson.

Deputy Minister Thomson praised the Working for Water and furniture programmes for assisting with job creation and skills development.

Source: SAnews.gov.za

FURNITURE FACTORIES The Working for Water programme is aimed at establishing viable furniture factories where products needed by government are manufactured. Wood from alien invasive plants is used to manufacture high-quality products at lower cost, creating jobs for approximately 1,500 workers nationally. The programme also produces chess board tables.

According to the Department of Environmental Affairs, alien invasive plants cause enormous damage to the environment by threatening water security, reducing the productive use of land, and affecting the ecological functioning of natural systems.

Stockists and suppliers of exotic hardwoods, pine and pine products, MDF, marine plywood, other plywoods and board products.

“The care for our environment has to start at a young age, and we therefore need to take proactive steps to nurture in our younger generation an appreciation for the importance of environmental care and protection,” Deputy Minister Thomson noted.

Theu–Theu Primary School is a disadvantaged school located in the Vukuzakhe township. “The key objective of all of these programmes is to link marginalized communities with opportunities and resources in the environmental sector to address poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment, and to encourage community

// JUNE / JULY 2016

87

FORESTRY

E Cape gets R113-million and 2,700ha afforestation The OR Tambo district in the Eastern Cape will benefit from a major forestry commercialization drive, says the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) and the Eastern Cape Rural Development Agency (ECRDA).

U

tilizing an R83-million grant from the Development Bank of Southern Africa Jobs Fund, the communitybased forestry commercialization drive has already yielded 2,700 hectares (ha) of new afforestation across five projects: Sinawo and Izinini in Mbizana, Mkambati in Flagstaff, Gqukunqa in Qumbu, and Sixhotyeni in Maclear.

By the end of March 2016, R56-million had already been spent on the five projects. By the end of the 2016/2017 fiscal, an additional 1,000ha will be planted.

The forestry commercialization drive has identified some 15,800ha for new afforestation, which will require an

88

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

additional R225-million to establish. This drive has already attracted the attention and active support of forestry giants such as KwaZulu-Natal-based Sappi Forests, who have identified some 30,000ha for new afforestation in the Eastern Cape by 2033.

After unveiling the scope of the drive, Chief Executive of the ECRDA, Thozi Gwanya, said, “This milestone is a result of many years of hard work, which began with an application to the Jobs Fund for the implementation of eight community-based forestry projects.�

FORESTRY “In 2013 the DBSA Jobs Fund approved a R113-million grant on condition that, of this amount, ECDC and ECRDA would provide match funding of R30-million, split equally between the two.”

OPPORTUNITY FOR PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS “The two partners have subsequently implemented five of the projects, with the sixth having been established in April 2016. The grant funding can currently cater for the establishment of 5,966ha. Some R225-million would be required to implement the envisaged 15,800ha. This is a fantastic opportunity for private and public sector investors to take advantage of the massive economic potential inherent in the sector,” Gwanya stated.

He explained that some of the projects were land resettlement projects, which made it easy to work because they had legitimate owners. Strategic partners such as Sappi and PG Bison were already assisting these communities; they were the market for the timber produced through these projects.

“The end goal is the commercialization of communal forestry plantations. When they harvest, they already have a market in partners such as Sappi and PG Bison. In these projects, a potential exists to establish a pole-treating plant where they will get feedstock from these community projects,” said Gwanya.

ECDC Chief Executive, Buhle Dlulane, added: “At ECDC we are excited to form part of yet another exciting catalytic initiative with a strong agro-processing element that seeks to propel the Eastern Cape’s manufacturing value proposition. ECDC has deliberately positioned itself as a driver of such beneficiation efforts in the province.”

Dlulane said the ECDC is delighted that its partnership with the ECRDA is bearing the requisite fruits. “This forestry development partnership has a strong beneficiation and processing element, which complements ECRDA’s primary production activities. ECDC is equally

pleased that this partnership is in a sector that holds significant economic potential and job creation prospects.”

Case in point: In Sinawo in Mbizana and in Mkambati, the community-owned forestry projects have already generated millions of rands in revenue out of the old trees that are being clear felled. The five projects have already created 819 jobs. According to Sappi Forests’ Stakeholder Relations Manager, Dr Blessing Karumbidza, the projects sell their timber to Sappi Mills through Sappi Forests.

“Part of the agreements we have with the communities is that they only commit 70% of their timber to Sappi. The remaining 30% provides flexibility for the community forestry projects to establish a mill in the Pondoland area, such as a pole-treating plant, which they can supply and which belongs to the community. This is the right step toward beneficiation activities in communal-owned forestry enterprises,” Dr Karumbidza explained.

“This model encourages the growth of small businesses - such as those that can trade in the transport of timber to the mill, and the establishment of contractors trading in silviculture operations - such as transporting seedlings, and planting of trees. These will be businesses owned by people from these communities,” Dr Karumbidza added.

He noted that Sappi has already identified 30,000ha for new afforestation and is already in talks with communities.

“There are already areas which are licensed and where we are busy planting, in Mbizana, Flagstaff, Lusikisiki and Nyandeni. We also have areas in the pipeline that are in the application process for forestry licences. Already we are sitting at 16,000ha of licensed areas, and those currently engaged in the licence application process.”

“We have already planted 3,000ha in areas that we are working in the Eastern Cape, which have created more than 600 jobs. If you can achieve 600 jobs with 3,000ha, it means with 30,000ha by 2033, some 6,000 jobs and families will be transformed through this investment – together with the expansion of the value chain,” Dr Karumbidza noted.

Decking | Flooring | Exotic Timber | Solid Beams | Sawmilling

HOW CAN TIMBER HOME KITS HELP U?

Plantation Sawmilling & Boards cc 100 Marmer rd. Highbury, Randvaal Henley on Klip Tel: 016 365 6660 / 6548 www.plantsaw.co.za www.facebook.com/plantsaw

Eco-Friendly suppliers of the finest African Hardwood Timber // JUNE / JULY 2016

89

WOOD PROFILE

Meranti bundles in the warehouse at Rare Woods SA - Cape Town branch. Photograph courtesy of Rare Woods SA (Pty) Ltd.

Wood works Light Red Meranti In the April-May 2016 edition of Timber iQ, we highlighted the wood properties of Balau. In this issue, the properties of the lighterweight and more commonly used Light Red Meranti are discussed.

Article by: Stephanie Dyer, Timber Information Services

T

he scientific name Shorea was given to this large group of South East Asian trees in honour of John Shore, a Governor of Bengal. The many species that belong to this genus have been grouped in the timber trade into five groups, based on density and appearance characteristics, namely: Light Red Meranti, Dark Red Meranti, White Meranti, Yellow Meranti and Balau. Of these groups, mainly Light Red Meranti and Balau are imported into South Africa.

Light Red Meranti is represented by a number of species.

The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia recognizes twelve Shorea species that belong to this group, and these are listed in the accompanying table within this article.

90

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

Supplies of this timber are plentiful and it is an important component on the international timber market, especially for the manufacture of veneer. It was recently ranked as the number one timber among the hardwoods used in the manufacture of hardwood plywood and is popular for inner plies and back faces of plywood. Together with this, the relatively low cost and universal availability in all shapes and sizes make Light Red Meranti one of the world’s most popular woods. Other uses include light construction, interior- and exterior joinery, furniture parts, domestic flooring, interior- and exterior doors, window frames, carpentry, interior finishing, interior- and exterior panelling, interior framing, staircases, and boxes and crates.

WOOD PROFILE

Meranti in the racks at Rare Woods SA - Cape Town branch. Photograph courtesy of Rare Woods SA (Pty) Ltd. The wood produced by Shorea species can be identified by tangential lines of resin canals, visible in the end grain and lengthwise planes as white lines, which can be conspicuous or difficult to see.

Apart from colour and density, the wood anatomical structures of the different Shorea species are similar and the species are not easily distinguishable.

Meranti close up. Photograph courtesy of Rare Woods SA (Pty) Ltd.

Resin canals in Shorea species produce fine white lines, visible on all surfaces.

Photograph courtesy of Stephanie Dyer.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

91

WOOD PROFILE HERE IS SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PROPERTIES OF LIGHT RED MERANTI FOR THE WOOD ENTHUSIAST:

LIGHT RED MERANTI: HARD FACTS Botanical/ Shorea species Scientific name: (Family: Dipterocarpaceae) Trade name:

South Africa: Light Red Meranti United States of America: Light Red Meranti, Lauan, Philippine Mahogany Indonesia: Madjau, Melebekan, Meranti merah, Red meranti, Meranti bunga, Meranti merah muda Sabah: Light red seraya Sarawak: Meranti samak Thailand: Saya khao, Chan hoi, Saya lueang

Malaysia (Peninsular and islands): Meranti rambai daun (Shorea acuminata) Meranti batu (S. dasyphylla) Meranti daun besar (S. hemsleyana) Meranti pepijat (S. johorensis) Meranti langgang (S. lepidota) Meranti tembaga (S. leprosula) Meranti kepong hantu (S. macrantha) Meranti kepong (S. ovalis) Meranti tengkawang ayer (S. palembanica) Meranti sarang punai (S. parvifolia) Meranti paya (S. platycarpa) Meranti bunga (S. teysmanniana)

Origin:

Light Red Meranti is widely distributed in South East Asia, mainly Malaysia, Indonesia, Sabah, Sarawak and Thailand. The trees grow in a range of different habitats.

Conservation status:

Many species of the genus Shorea are on the IUCN Red List. The majority of Shorea species are listed as being critically endangered due to a population reduction of over 80% in the past three generations, a decline in their natural range, and exploitation.

Bole characteristics:

Large trees, with a mean height of 30-40m and a maximum height of 70m. Old trees have buttressed stems, with buttress roots of 1-3m in height. Clear boles of 25-30m with diameters of 0.7-1.5 (max. 3m) are obtainable. Logs from old trees sometimes contain heart rot.

Colour:

Heartwood – light red or pinkish-brown.

Sapwood – lighter in colour and clearly demarcated, approximately 5cm-8cm wide.

The wood is lustrous.

Grain pattern:

Interlocked or wavy, producing a striped figure on the radial surface. The texture is coarse, but even.

Density:

544 (385-755) kg/m3 at 12% mc (Ref 1 & 2) 340-680 kg/m3 (Ref 3) 480 kg/m3 at 12% mc (Ref 4) 500 (380-580) kg/m3 (Ref 6)

Strength/Bending properties:

Lightweight and soft with low crushing strength, medium bending strength and medium elasticity.

Seasoning:

Boards of 15mm and 40mm thickness require 2 and 3 months respectively to air-dry.

Kiln-drying schedule 3 is recommended (see opposite page). Movement in use is small to medium.

Durability and preservative treatment:

Natural durability of heartwood against: Fungi – moderate to no resistance Dry wood borer – durable (sapwood susceptible) Termites – susceptible The wood is classified as non-durable. It requires treatment when using in areas with temporary humidity. Not suitable for use in permanent humidity.

It is resistant to preservative treatment.

Working and finishing properties:

92

The wood is easy to work, due to its low density. It may leave rough or ragged surfaces during sanding, necessitating sanding up to a finer grit to obtain a satisfactory finish. Grain may lift during planing of quartersawn surfaces, but other surfaces plane well. Some material may have a slight blunting effect on tools due to silica present in the wood. It has good nailing properties and takes screws satisfactorily. The wood glues, stains and finishes well. It has poor bending properties.

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

WOOD PROFILE

Bark of Shorea leprosula.

Photograph by Ishak yassir - https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=16215873

Shorea leprosula plantation in Samboja Lestari area, Borneo. Photograph by Ishak yassir - https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/ index.php?curid=16215884

Leaves of Shorea leprosula.

Photograph by Patrice78500 - https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=5634118

Seed of Shorea leprosula.

Photograph by Ishak yassir - https:// commons.wikimedia.org/w/index. php?curid=16215914

TIMBER DRYING SCHEDULE FOR LIGHT RED MERANTI (Shorea species) Supplied by H-P Stöhr, Timber Drying Institute (timberdrying@mweb.co.za) Dry Bulb temperatures (°C) and Relative Humidity (%) at the following Timber Moisture Contents Drying schedule no.

3

Green

40%

30%

18% to final

DB

RH%

DB

RH%

DB

RH%

DB

RH%

50

71

55

64

60

53

70

36

DB = Dry bulb temperature, RH = Relative Humidity Please note: Drying schedules only serve as a guide to the kiln operator, with the response of the timber to the drying condition being the criterion.

REFERENCES AND SOURCES: 1. Timber Technology Centre (TTC). 1998. Timber Notes – Light Hardwoods (I).

Timber Technology Bulletin 9 (1998). Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM), Kuala Lumpur 2. Menon, P K B. 1993. Structure and identification of Malayan woods.

Malayan Forest Records, No. 25. Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 3. Flynn, J H and Holder, C D (ed.). 2001. A guide to useful woods of the world.

Forest Products Society, Madison, WI 4. https://www.wood.database.co./lumber-identification/hardwoods/light red meranti/ New 1-inch thick Meranti plywood selected for this porch restoration project.

Photograph by Norman Platt Johnson.

5. Wiselius, S I. 2010. Houtvademecum. Centrum Hout Almere, Sdu Publishers, The Hague 6. CIRAD. 1998-2011. Tropix 7. Datasheet - Light Red Meranti. Tropix.cirad.fr (visited page on 2016/05/22)

// JUNE / JULY 2016

93

WOODWORKING MANUFACTURING

A major highlight at the conference was the panel discussion on the implications of Industry 4.0 for the woodworking sector. © Deutsche Messe AG

Integrated manufacturing in the woodworking industries The first LIGNA Conference was held in the Robotation Academy at the Hannover Exhibition Center in Hannover, Germany, on 3 and 4 May 2016. The event attracted 140 participants and was sold out weeks in advance. The unanimous conclusion: "Industry 4.0 is not a revolution -it is an evolution which has already begun in the furniture industry."

D

uring two action-packed days, 13 speakers from diverse sectors of the woodworking industry reported on their visions and experiences in relation to digitalization, its practical deployment in manufacturing processes, and its impact on development, production and distribution. And where integrated manufacturing in the woodworking industries is concerned, it appears that the woodworking community is well on its way to Industry 4.0.

WOODWORKING COMMUNITY TALKS INDUSTRY 4.0 Day one of the conference began with an interactive presentation by Timothy Kaufmann, Business Development - Internet of Things at SAP Deutschland SE & Co. KG, who

94

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

examined the opportunities opened up by Industry 4.0.

During the course of the day, visitors found out more about the positive impact of Industry 4.0 on our everyday lives.

Per Berggren, Manager - Industrial Strategies at IKEA, demonstrated that integrated manufacturing techniques can be tailored to mass production applications – as evidenced in IKEA’s PAX wardrobe range.

The second day of the conference was devoted to examples of best practice. Olaf Katzer, Head of International Job Family Development at Volkswagen AG, talked about the qualification of professionals in an Industry 4.0 environment. In his view, it is essential to keep the human factor in mind despite all the euphoria about efficiency gains, cost-cutting and sustainability.

WOODWORKING MANUFACTURING

The customer remains the focus of attention and is an essential factor in the overall production picture. It goes without saying that Industry 4.0 will impact production in terms of its means, data flows and the workforce involved. He emphasized the importance of taking the necessary preparatory steps.

INDUSTRY 4.0 APPLIES TO SMES The LIGNA Conference arrived at the clear conclusion that Industry 4.0 is also directly relevant to small and medium-sized enterprises. However, it is essential that SMEs create areas of specialization and build new networks as a prerequisite for efficient and profitable production.

A major highlight at the conference was the panel discussion on the implications of Industry 4.0 for the woodworking sector. Significant progress has already been made with the implementation of Industry 4.0. At the beginning of the discussion, the audience was confronted with controversial assertions such as “Industry 4.0 is the logical continuation of what we’ve been doing for the past 20 years.”

The panel consisted of Gregor Baumbusch (Michael WEINIG AG), Stefan Sieber (Beckhoff Automation), Andreas Bischoff (IMA Klessmann GmbH), Jürgen Köppel (HOMAG Group AG), Bernd Kressmann (JELD-WEN Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG), Federico Broccoli (BIESSE Group), Dr. Frank Prekwinkel (imos AG), Dieter Rezbach (LIGNUM Consulting GmbH), Christoph Rieke (Steelcase Werndl AG), Frank Westermann (WESTERMANN GmbH & Co. KG) and Luigi De Vito (SCM Group).

The wide-ranging discussion culminated in the conclusion that “Industry 4.0 is not a revolution – it is an evolution which has already begun in the furniture industry.”

“Thanks to its sharp focus on integrated production, the premiere of the LIGNA Conference was a resounding success. The concentrated, intrigued looks on the faces of the 140 visitors testified to the major appeal of integrated production as the key to Industry 4.0. This opens up huge opportunities for furniture factories and members of the woodworking trades.

It is up to each individual to shape this process within his or her own enterprise,” said Dr. Jochen Köckler, Member of the Managing Board at Deutsche Messe.

On both days of the LIGNA Conference, presentations were given by Biesse Group, HOMAG Group AG, IMA Klessmann GmbH, imos AG, SCM Group, 20-20 Technologies GmbH, abaco Informationssysteme GmbH, Beckhoff Automation GmbH & Co. KG, dmaic software GmbH & Co. KG, Leitz GmbH & Co. KG, LEUCO Ledermann GmbH & Co. KG, Michael WEINIG AG and SDI Project Automation GmbH. Visitors took this opportunity to swap ideas and build new networks.

IMPRESSION “Given the high-calibre programme and the line-up of speakers, I had high hopes for the LIGNA Conference. For me the most important realization was that integrated production is not only a matter of adapting technology and organization, but also entails the unified interplay of all corporate departments. Industry 4.0 directly involves customers and the entire supply chain. The conference was extremely helpful and more than met my expectations,” summarized Frank Heuer, Purchasing Manager at the bathroom furniture manufacturer W. SCHILDMEYER GmbH & Co. KG in Bad Oeynhausen.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

95

INDUSTRY 4.0

An(other) industrial revolution?

The manufacturing industry, worldwide, is rapidly being transformed by fast-evolving digital advances and ever-increasing sensory technologies that include 3D printing, smart robots, the IoT (Internet of Things), the IoS, self-thinking drones, etc. It's important for those vested in industrial processing to stay current with these influences and changes. But how? We're talking Industry 4.0.

T

he future of manufacturing spells continual transformation as industry continues to advance by incorporating current and ever-improving information and communications technologies. If you’re unsure or even overwhelmed by what exactly Industry 4.0 entails, don’t feel alone. Among all the literature, definitions and studies available online, this is a palatable definition: Industry 4.0, Industrie 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution, [1] is a collective term embracing a number of contemporary automation, data exchange and manufacturing technologies. It had been defined as ‘a collective term for technologies and concepts of value

96

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

chain organization,’ which draws together Cyber-Physical Systems, the Internet of Things and the Internet of Services. [2][3][4] Industry 4.0 facilitates the vision and execution of a ‘Smart Factory.’ Within the modular structured smart factories of Industry 4.0, cyber-physical systems monitor physical processes, create a virtual copy of the physical world, and make decentralized decisions. Over the Internet of Things, cyber-physical systems communicate and cooperate with each other and with humans in real time. And via the Internet of Services, both internal and cross-organizational services are offered and utilized by participants of the value chain.

INDUSTRY 4.0 THE NAME

REFERENCES

The term Industrie 4.0 originates from a project in the high-tech strategy of the German government, which promotes the computerization of manufacturing. [5] The first industrial revolution mobilized the mechanization of production, using water and steam power. The second industrial revolution then introduced mass production with the help of electric power, followed by the digital revolution and the use of electronics and IT to further automate production. [6]

1. Klaus Schwab 2016: The Fourth Industrial Revolution, accessed on 12 Jan 2016 2. Hermann, Pentek, Otto, 2016: Design Principles for Industrie 4.0 Scenarios, accessed on 4 May 2016 3. Jürgen Jasperneite: Was hinter Begriffen wie Industrie 4.0 steckt in Computer & Automation, 19 Dezember 2012, accessed on 23 December 2012 4. Kagermann, H., W. Wahlster and J. Helbig, eds., 2013: Recommendations for implementing the strategic initiative Industrie 4.0: Final report of the Industrie 4.0 Working Group 5. Zukunftsprojekt Industrie 4.0 6. Die Evolution zur Industrie 4.0 in der Produktion, last download on 14 April 2013 7. Industrie 4.0: Mit dem Internet der Dinge auf dem Weg zur 4. industriellen Revolution, VDI-Nachrichten, April 2011 8. Industrie 4.0 Plattform, last download on 15 July 2013 9. http://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/ operations/our-insights/manufacturings-next-act 10. Selbstkonfiguierende Automation für Intelligente Technische Systeme, Video, last download on 27 Dezember 2012 11. Jürgen Jasperneite; Oliver, Niggemann: Intelligente Assistenzsysteme zur Beherrschung der Systemkomplexität in der Automation. In: ATP edition - Automatisierungstechnische Praxis, 9/2012, Oldenbourg Verlag, München, September 2012 12. Projekt RES-COM 13. Webseite Exzellenzcluster "Integrative Produktionstechnik für Hochlohnländer", last download on 15 July 2013 14. Projekt CREMA 15. The Internet of Things and the future of manufacturing 16. Lee, Jay, Industry 4.0 in Big Data Environment, Harting Tech News 26, 2013, http://www.harting.com/ fileadmin/harting/documents/lg/ hartingtechnologygroup/news/tec-news/tec-news26/ EN_tecNews26.pdf 17. Lee, Jay; Bagheri, Behrad; Kao, Hung-An (2014).

"Recent Advances and Trends of Cyber-Physical Systems and Big Data Analytics in Industrial Informatics". IEEE Int. Conference on Industrial Informatics (INDIN) 2014.

18. Lee, Jay; Lapira, Edzel; Bagheri, Behrad; Kao, Hung-an.

"Recent advances and trends in predictive manufacturing systems in big data environment".

Manufacturing Letters 1 (1): 38–41. doi:10.1016/j. mfglet.2013.09.005.

19. http://www.imscenter.net/IMS_news/cincinnatimayor-proclaimed-cincinnati-to-be-industry-4-0demonstration-city 20. http://www.thequint.com/business/2016/02/24/ india-can-gain-by-leapfrogging-into-fourth-industrialrevolution

The term was first used in 2011 at the Hannover Fair. [7] In October 2012, the Working Group on Industry 4.0 chaired

by Siegfried Dais (Robert Bosch GmbH) and Henning Kagermann (acatech) presented a set of Industry 4.0 implementation recommendations to the German federal government. On 8 April 2013 at the Hannover Fair, the final report of the Working Group Industry 4.0 was presented. [8] Other rationales exist for the meaning of ‘4.0.’ For example, McKinsey cite: “The fourth major upheaval in modern manufacturing, following the lean revolution of the 1970s, the outsourcing phenomenon of the 1990s, and the automation that took off in the 2000s.” [9]

DESIGN PRINCIPLES There are four design principles in Industry 4.0. These principles support companies in identifying and implementing Industry 4.0 scenarios. [2] • Inter-operability: The ability of machines, devices, sensors and people to connect and communicate with each other via the Internet of Things or the Internet of People.

• Information transparency: The ability of information systems to create a virtual copy of the physical world by enriching digital plant models with sensor data. This requires the aggregation of raw sensor data to highervalue context information.

• Technical assistance: First, the ability of assistance systems to support humans by aggregating and visualizing information comprehensibly for making informed decisions and solving urgent problems on short notice. Second, the ability of cyber-physical systems to physically support humans by conducting a range of tasks that are unpleasant, too exhausting, or unsafe for their human co-workers.

• Decentralized decisions: The ability of cyber-physical systems to make decisions on their own and to perform their tasks as autonomously as possible. Only in case of exceptions, interferences, or conflicting goals, are tasks delegated to a higher level.

SOURCE CREDIT: Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_4.0; last visited 22 May 2016.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

97

BAMBOO

Come dine with me Vo Trong Nghia has done it again, bringing the undeniable charm and beauty of bamboo to the fore with the enchanting Roc Von Restaurant in Vietnam.

Photographs: Le Anh Duc (AIF Studio), Hoang Le Photography

T

he building is located 30km from Hanoi, beside the main road that connects Hanoi and Hoa Binh. This area is popular for stopovers, as buses and cars pause along their long journeys to enjoy a rest here. It is also a popular destination for Hanoians who like to embark on one-day trips.

The restaurant is situated right next to the road. To create an intimate space and protect guests from the busy road, the floor of the restaurant was designed lower than the road. After stepping down from the road towards the dining space, guests face a natural lake with bamboo arches overhead.

The 12 bamboo columns, with their shapes spreading upwards, support the roof structure of the semi-outdoor dining area.

98

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

The curved plan with its centre stage is well suited for events usage, while at the same time embracing guests with an intimate atmosphere.

TAM VONG AND LUONG Two different bamboo species were used for the bamboo columns: Tam Vong and Luong. Each of them provides different material qualities that are crucial for the building structure. The bamboo has been treated with a natural, traditional Vietnamese method in order to ensure the high quality and long-term durability of the material. The natural treatment contributes to a sustainable building approach as well.

BAMBOO

// JUNE / JULY 2016

99

BAMBOO

The space under the columns is naturally cross-ventilated and cooled by the evaporation of water from the adjacent lake.

The support area is a separated building volume, with the walls cladded in a local material – laterite blocks. These orange-coloured soil blocks express tradition in the area and are well aligned with the bamboo structure.

The Roc Von Restaurant provides for a place where guests can feel a strong connection to the local culture of North Vietnam.

The application of an open space and the usage of natural materials further enhance that connection.

For more information, visit www.votrongnghia.com.

PROJECT DETAILS PROJECT NAME: Roc Von Restaurant CLIENT: La Vong group JSC. STATUS: Built April 2015 ARCHITECTURAL FIRM: Vo Trong Nghia Architects PRINCIPAL ARCHITECT: Vo Trong Nghia, Takashi Niwa DESIGN TEAM: Mai Lan Chi BAMBOO MANAGER: Nguyen Ba Tuong CONTRACTOR: La Vong group JSC. BAMBOO CONSTRUCTION: Vo Trong Nghia Architects LOCATION: Xa Phu Cat, Huyen Quoc Oai, Hanoi, Vietnam SITE AREA: 6,560m2 GFA: 1,100m2 PHOTOGRAPHS: Le Anh Duc (AIF Studio), Hoang Le Photography

100

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

Conference

∙ Trade Expo

11 - 12 August 2016 | Cape Town International Convention Centre

Conference

∙ Trade Expo

CLIMBING TO NEW HEIGHTS IN THE WESTERN CAPE’S CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY What to expect?

3500+ attendees

20+

hours dedicated networking

100+

exhibiting companies

40+

media and association partners

Conference Trade Expo

Conference Trade Expo



R1,5 million+ marketing coverage

Contact us today to book your space! rashaad.essop@hypenica.com 021 700 4356 Quote TiQ

Cape Construction Expo enables you to meet the entire construction value chain, and conclude several months of customer interaction in just a few days.

Join the conversation

CapeConstruction

www.cape-construction.co.za

Cape-Construction

@CT_Construction #capeconstruction

THATCH

Nguqa sithandaze Biggarsberg Thatchers was tasked to build eight Zulu huts to serve as guest accommodation at the Ncome Zulu Cultural Museum. The historical significance of the site aptly resonates in the beautiful end result.

Interior of a Nguqa sithandaze Zulu hut.

T

he Ncome Zulu Cultural Museum is built on the site of the legendary Battle of Blood River that took place in 1838. The museum overlooks the bronze wagons or ‘wagon laager’ of the Voortrekker (Boer) Commandos across from the Ncome River/ Bloed Rivier (so named in isiZulu and Afrikaans respectively).

The focus of the Biggarsberg Thatchers brief was the construction of the Zulu huts, known as ‘Nguqa sithandaze.’

Nguqa means bend. The doors are traditionally very low, hence the need for bending. Sithandaze means prayer. The Nguqa sithandaze is traditionally used for the purposes of thanksgiving, prayer and worship ceremonies for the departed. Today, tourists and guests can enjoy the cluster of eight thatched huts as their lodgings when they visit the former battlefield.

102

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

THATCH NGUQA SITHANDAZE CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS The project presented a few challenges, which included the laying of the thatch grass and the binding of the grass to the laths. Due to the curvature of the domedshaped structures, the grass tended to lift and separate from the bundles below. But Biggarsberg Thatchers overcame that by selecting all the finer thatch grass from their warehouses, which then ensured a smooth and even finish to the exterior of the roofs.

The beautiful fencing installed by Biggarsberg Thatchers at Ncome Zulu Cultural Museum.

Another factor was that the fibreglass centrepiece acts as a skylight, and this is the only natural light in the building. These fibreglass installations to the ridge were challenging as they were manufactured off-site and had to be modified on-site to suit each individual dome.

One rather comical challenge was to discourage the builders on the site from sleeping inside the huts. Thatch grass offers excellent thermal properties that keep the huts very cool in summer and very warm in winter, and they therefore quickly became the preferred place to sleep.

FUNCTIONAL EXTRA FEATURES

The thatched gatehouse at Ncome Zulu Cultural Museum.

Biggarsberg Thatchers added several enhancing features: The covering to the metal ring beams was achieved by the thatch grass being soaked in water to soften the fibres and then being plaited into ropes. (The traditional Zulu name for these ropes is ‘umjiko.’) The plaited ropes were then used to wrap the metal ring beams.

Thatch rolls were used as beam filling, which resulted in a natural and very aesthetically pleasing finish.

The thatching of the eight Nguqa sithandazes took the Biggarsberg Thatchers team approximately eight weeks to complete.

For more information, visit www.thatcher.co.za.

// JUNE / JULY 2016

103

FURNITURE INDUSTRY NEWS

Boost for furniture manufacturers The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) says it is on a mission to improve the competitiveness of the furniture manufacturing industry.

T

his as the department has embarked on a programme to improve the competitiveness of small-scale furniture manufacturers across the country. The department aims to increase the furniture manufacturers’ productivity and their contribution to job creation and economic growth.

“The Furniture Competitiveness Programme is one of the government measures identified in the eighth iteration of the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP) to boost the capacity of the furniture manufacturing industry,” the department said in a recent statement.

According to Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies, the forestry sector has the potential to create jobs and presents opportunities for growth through beneficiation and value-addition to wood before exporting. “Within this sector, the furniture industry has also been identified in the IPAP as an important industry within the South African economy. This is due to the fact that it is labourintensive and has the potential to contribute to reducing the level of unemployment, increasing exports, and contributing to the development of small and medium enterprises,” the Minister said.

The furniture manufacturing industry currently comprises approximately 2,200 registered firms involved in the manufacturing of furniture, bedding and upholstery. It employs approximately 26,400 factory workers. The industry is labour-intensive and contributes about 1% to the manufacturing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 1.1% to manufacturing employment.

“The dti would like to position the South African furniture industry as a producer of high-value niche furniture products that are globally competitive and based on quality or differentiated designs. This would require a concerted effort on the part of government, the newly established industry association - the South African Furniture Initiative, as well as manufacturers, to develop programmes that address the challenges that currently constrain the industry,” Minister Davies explained.

Handcrafted White Oak R&Q, Tree House - Sweet Memories Collection.

Photo credit: Mirage Hardwood Floors, courtesy of v2com (source).

Like most small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs), companies operating in the furniture manufacturing industry face size-related competitiveness challenges – primarily the ability to access markets and reduce input costs. “This calls for systematic collaboration in the furniture industry, especially amongst small and newly established manufacturers. A number of industries have successfully organized their players in manufacturing hubs, clusters or industrial parks.”

MANUFACTURING HUB “The current situation with the SMMEs operating in the furniture industry presents an opportunity to further capacitate and organize trained manufacturers, and thus improve productivity and competitiveness,” Minister Davies said.

He added that the department is currently consulting stakeholders on the feasibility of establishing a furniture manufacturing hub to address challenges highlighted by small furniture manufacturers. These include limited access to information, adequate business premises, limited access to modern or high-tech machinery and equipment, poor sector integration, and challenging market conditions.

“A furniture manufacturing hub will create scope and opportunity for small manufacturers to work together to access larger market opportunities and create a foundation for better synergies between the different stakeholders involved in the sector,” the Minister stated.

Source: SAnews.gov.za

104

JUNE / JULY 2016 //

51

ST BIRTHDAY SPECIALS

A big THANK YOU to all the industry patrons who visited our 51st birthday stand (Above) at the WoodEx for Africa Expo held 9-11 June. We had such a good show that we are now extending our birthday specials…

THE OLIMPIC K360 High performance edgebander, the new reference point in the market for entry level edge banding, including edge scraping, glue scraping and buffing.

NOW R 345 000 + VAT was R 365 000

Photographed at the Expo From Left: Claudio Bianchi, Africa Area Manager from SCM Group, Minette Gópper, Geerlings shareholder & budget Maestro, Martiens Bezuidenhoudt, Service Director, Roberto Vitri, Regional Manager Africa & Latin America, and Cornelis Rostoll, MD for Geerlings.

THE SCM STARTECH CNC

DRILLING & GROOVING MACHINE Allows extreme flexibility in processing on the flat 4 side faces, dowelling holes on the upper surface – with the vertical spindles bit tool, and lateral dowelling holes, with the horizontal spindles bit tool kit. Grooves cut with a blade, hinge holes cut with the vertical spindles & tool-tip countersink. This is the ideal CNC for cupboard manufacturers, reducing production time by one third – gi given the capacity to save & import working programmes, allowing the machine to repeat complete drilling and grooving cycles with absolute computerized precision – eliminating errors. The X-axis is 750mm; The X-Y axes speed / m / minute is 25. The motor power of the drilling head is 2HP, spindle rotation speed is 3350 RPM & the blade rotation speed is 4300. This CNC could be the best answer to your drilling and grooving operations, so come see it working at our showroom 7 Adcock Street, Chamdor, Krugersdorp, Johannesburg.

NOW R 399 000 + VAT The SCM Formula S40 panel saw comes standard with a ten year guarantee on the sliding table - due to the SCM – patented high cutting quality – sliding table structure with special ground-arch steel guides.

The S40 has a 3.2m cutting capacity with a 1.270m rip.

We bring ours in with a 9.5HP main motor, independent 120mm diameter scorer unit & main blade 400mm diameter capacity.

NOW R 119 000 + VAT was R 139 000

was R 446 500

GET IN TOUCH, BIRTHDAY SPECIALS ONLY WHILE NEW STOCK LASTS Johannesburg 011 279 5900 Cape Town 021 987 3408 Durban 031 914 0085

www.geerlings.co.za

www.accoya.com

INNOVATION IN WOOD

KEY FEATURES Accoya® wood is produced from sustainably sourced, fast growing wood and manufactured using Accsys’ proprietary patented modification process from surface to core.

Available from:

HIGH PERFORMANCE, SUSTAINABLE WOOD PRODUCTS

Ideal for windows, doors, cladding, decking, structural applications and much more…

DIMENSIONALLY STABLE

OUTSTANDING DURABILITY

PERFECT FOR COATING

BAREFOOT FRIENDLY

NATURALLY INSULATING

EXCELLENT MACHINABILITY

INSECT BARRIER

CONSISTENT QUALITY THROUGHOUT

NATURALLY BEAUTIFUL WOOD

FROM SUSTAINABLE SOURCES

RETAINED STRENGTH & HARDNESS

NON-TOXIC & RECYCLABLE

Goodwood Industrial Park Millview Road Shakaskraal KwaZulu Natal South Africa

T. 032 9470435 E. tmj@worldonline.co.za W. www.freedomwood-accoya.com

Accoya® and the Trimarque Device are registered trademarks owned by Titan Wood Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Accsys Technologies PLC, and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.