RILEM Conference 2013
Materials and Joints in Timber Structures – Recent Advancement of Technology
October 08 – 10, 2013
The use of timber in structures represents one of the most promising approaches to meet the urgent needs for sustainability, environmental friendliness and CO2 emission reduction in building technology. Due to the world’s fast growing population, the achievement of the mentioned aims is increasingly understood as one of the primary keys to ensure future life on earth. Timber construction has experienced considerable progress in recent years. Advancement can be seen within the both equally important interacting construction components – materials and joints. With regard to materials, it is undeniable that cross-laminated timber has widened the range of possibilities of timber constructions the most. The re-invention of plywood, now based on sawn boards instead of peeled veneers, is the basis for multi-storey buildings of up to 9 stories and for realistic perspectives of up to 30 stories. The recent production of glulam and LVL made of high strength hardwoods such as beech, oak, chestnut and several tropical hardwoods, further broaden architectural horizons and meet the demands of forestry towards sustainable and soil/climate apt tree cultivation.
The objectives of the conference are to bring together world leading experts in the fore-mentioned fields of wooden materials, joints and timber construction to present the latest state of technology and to identify future research needs in order to conserve the current pace of progress.
Keynote speakers include:
Malcolm McGregor
Pringle Richards Sharatt Architects, London
Prof. Hans Joachim Blaß
Timber Structures and Building Construction, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Prof. Achim Menges
Institute for Computational Design, University of Stuttgart