Architectural Record – August 2019

116

CONTINUING EDUCATION

EDUCATIONAL-ADVERTISEMENT

D

riven by climate change concerns and

sustainable design trends, structural

wood is slowly but surely gaining

traction. In fact, the worldwide market for cross-

laminated timber (CLT) is expected to grow at a

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CONTINUING EDUCATION

1 AIA LU/ELECTIVE

Learning Objectives

After reading this article, you should be able to:

1. Explain the benefits and growing popularity
   of cross-laminated timber (CLT) buildings.


2. Recognize CLT’s unique sensitivity to
   moisture and how specially designed
   building enclosures are required to support
   building longevity and high performance.


3. Review options for attaching various
   cladding components to the CLT panels.


4. Describe best practices for designing and
   installing water-resistive barriers (WRBs),
   vapor retarders, and air barriers (ABs) in
   CLT wall and roof cladding systems.


5. Review best practices for detailing CLT roof
   assemblies of varying slopes.

To receive AIA credit, you are required to

read the entire article and pass the test. Go to

ce.architecturalrecord.com for complete text

and to take the test for free.

AIA COURSE #K1908D

compound annual growth rate of approximately

9.1 percent over the next five years, reaching $980

million by 2024, states the Selbyville, Delaware-

based market research firm Market Study in its

“Cross-Laminated Timber Market Share” report.

“This is the beginning of the timber age,”

declares Andrew Waugh, RIBA, founder

and director, Waugh Thistelton Architects,

London, in a Dezeen article on this noted

trend. “Building in wood is super fast, super

accurate, and also makes the most amazingly

beautiful spaces.”

Waugh claims that a CLT structure can be

constructed 50 percent faster than a concrete

building, requires fewer deliveries to the site,

and provides a more pleasant environment for

construction workers.

Architect Alex de Rijke, whose London-based

firm dRMM has designed a few dozen CLT

buildings, agrees, saying, “CLT is the future of

construction. Timber is the new concrete.”

In an Economist video report titled “Wood-

en skyscrapers could be the future for cities,”

Michael Ramage, Ph.D., director, Cambridge

University’s Center for Natural Material In-

novation, even goes so far as to say, “I think

it’s very realistic to think that someone will