Wooden column
element
Raw tree trunk
Wooden columns ready for assembly.
From annual forest maintenance 8 tree trunks are harvested, transported and peeled.
Inspection of the timber quality and exact measurement of dimensions and curves are performed.
The tree logs are lifted to their places.
Top and bottom of the trunks are prepared to fit the connector and to transmit structural forces properly.
View after assembly.
Summary
Wooden columns made from sustainably harvested Douglas fir during annual forest maintenance. The tree trunks are untreated and made suitable for assembly with a little preparation of bottom and top.
Details
8 tree trunks were mounted on the deck of GTB Lab in a few hours using steel connectors. The Dutch National Forest and Nature Reserve cut eight Douglas pine trees for GTB Lab as part of sustainable forest management. The use of the entire tree trunk presented the consortium with a rare challenge. Engineers and structural engineers are used to working with straight parts whose wood quality can be easily assessed. Now it had to process eight unique products without a single straight edge.
Design
4D Architects
Manufacturer
Dutch Nature and Forest Reserve (Staatsbosbeheer), De Groot Vroomshoop, Rusman
Manufacturing location
Apeldoorn, Nederland
Materials
Raw wood
Dimensions
Length:
Width:
Height (or depth):
Thickness:
9 280 mm
550 mm (average diameter)
Shape
Round, irregular
Surface damage
No.
Hazardous materials
None
Material history
2018 - harvest in forest nearby Apeldoorn NL
2018 - arrival at storage site in Heerlen
2019 - peeling of bark
2021 - wood quality inspection and dimensions measurement
2022 - assembly at GTB Lab
Circularity data
Reversible BIM: the 3D color-coded model visualizes the reuse potential per element.
Embodied mass:
Embodied carbon:
1,95 ton
2,5 ton CO2
Reuse Potential:
Recovery option
0.9
Direct reuse
Reused tonnage:
Reused carbon:
1,59 ton
2,0 ton CO2
No. of elements:
No. of disassembly steps:
8
4
Remaining Technical Life Cycle:
69 year
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Wooden column
