Kelly Harrison is Director ESG & Impact at Whitby Wood, a worldwide engineering design and advisory consultancy. At the conference Build in Wood 20-21 May, she will talk about making a difference with wood and how we can address both carbon and densification challenges by using and extending existing buildings by renovating and building on top of existing structures.
In this article, you can read an interview with Kelly Harrison.
Can you share your background and describe how you and your company work with wood?
– I am a Director at Whitby Wood (WW), an engineering and advisory consultancy, I’m a Structural Engineer by background and have >15 years experience in designing timber structures. I am also on the Board of Directors for Timber Development UK (TDUK), a supplier to specifier membership organization that provides resources to the industry and engages with the UK government. My current focus is around breaking barriers to sustainable construction, developing new ways of collaborating, and governing the design process to allow sustainable solutions to be implemented at their best value.
How have you experienced the development of timber construction in recent years? Has anything surprised you positively or negatively?
– In the UK we see less mass timber construction, particularly in multi-residential buildings, due to the Grenfell Tragedy changing the Government’s approach to Building Safety. This has also had a knock-on effect on confidence in other types of building. I have been involved in several initiatives to unlock some of the effects of this, mainly through the pan European Network Built by Nature, and TDUK, and now through new services we offer at WW. Timber framed housing does seem to be on the rise however, as companies and sustainable investors start to realise its potential in this area. The UK Government have also identified the use of timber in construction as a key path to growth and solving the housing crisis with the announcement of the Timber in Construction Roadmap initiative in March 25.
How do you see timber construction as part of the solution to future building challenges, especially with a focus on sustainability and climate changes?
– As a structural engineer I’ve counted the embodied carbon emissions of many proposed developments. The lowest are always where we keep as much of a structure already built as possible. Really key is the foundations, 40% of the structural embodied carbon of a building is in the foundations. Adding floors to an existing structure is very viable due to the way foundations are generally designed to settle, and the best material to do that with, due to its high strength to weight ratio, is timber. Throw-in the low embodied carbon of the material itself, and its capacity to store carbon and it’s a win, win, win. This does not even consider the reduced labour requirements, precision off-site manufacture reducing time on site, the reduced requirements for finishes, and the biophilic impact on the construction workers and the user’s health. All of these wins are the reason why I spearheaded the www.optoppen.org web platform to show opportunity and break down barriers.
What advice would you give to companies or professionals who want to work more with wood in construction?
– Persevere, there’s more thought required up front, and you have to consider designing the building to suit the material, rather than the other way around in some instances. When you start to build with it though, you smile, and it’s infectious.
How do you see the role of timber construction in the future of building? What new technologies, materials or methods do you think will shape developments in 10, 20 or 50 years?
– I believe that a lot of opportunity will unlock following the inclusion of cross laminated timber in the next update to Eurocode 5, this will help with a lot of the regulatory nervousness in the UK for sure. In terms of technologies, I’d like to see resource efficient solutions come to the fore, not using material where it isn’t needed, and using the right species in the right location of a building or structural element.
Can you give a concrete example from your own practice where wood has created value in a building project?
– For a project I completed before joining WW, whilst at HTS, I led a team to deliver The Gramophone Works, where we were able to add four engineered timber floors to an existing two storey (plus basement) old warehouse without strengthening any foundations. This is really using timber to its best ability and is a great example of Optoppen.
What will you be presenting at Build in Wood and what will be your key message?
– I will be talking about the most resource efficient ways in which to use of timber and referring to the initiatives and projects mentioned in my previous answers.
Do you want to hear more from Kelly Harrison?
Join Build in Wood on 20-21 May in Copenhagen. Read more and sign up here.
