ARCT40970 Irish Timber & Sustainability

Academic Year 2024/2025

The research interests underlying this course relate to the current imperative of establishing more sustainable building practices within Ireland and the current interest in timber construction to achieve this goal. There are inherent contradictions in the use of wood as a sustainable building resource in Ireland as the quantity, quality and diversity of timbers available locally is limited thus leading to the importation of material, which carries embodied energy costs. A better scenario would be to consider the species currently under cultivation; develop a means to use the local timber more effectively in construction; and reuse timber from demolition in new builds. There are a number of ways to use small timber sizes more effectively in construction, including the bent wood technologies or engineered timbers that can optimize the strength of timber. The course will investigate and experiment with alternative technologies to advance a collective knowledge base and establish a more sustainable practice of timber use within the architectural profession in Ireland.

The course operates on the premise that architects are responsible to operate in a sustainable manner within their profession and much of their influence resides in their understanding and use of local construction materials. This course aims therefore to look at timber resources available within the local context in specific terms from how Ireland’s tree cover has changed over the centuries, examining some of the ecological, social and economic causes and effects of these changes, to more specific issues such as the appearance and workability of several types of timber, both hardwoods and softwoods. This material will serve as a foundation for individual research and will inform the group design/build (virtual in 2021) investigation to be undertaken by the class.

Objectives
1. To establish a coherent body of information for reference regarding all aspects of local timber management and use within the Irish construction industry.
2. To collate and establish a reference guide on local Irish timbers and a database of investigative and/or innovative uses of timber in architecture, which could inform local practice. This material, which will be submitted by students as a research project, will form part of the end of year exhibition.
3. To establish an annual project to investigate the effective use of timber in construction through innovative or investigative design projects using local timbers (if possible).

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of the module, students should be able to
1. Identify specific consequences of material choices and potentials within design
2. Understand meaning and value of construction materials within the framework of the sustainability mandate
3. Understand relevance of construction materials to the design process
4. Demonstrate knowledge of practical and innovative construction techniques

Indicative Module Content:

Designing for Disassembly & Reuse (DfDR)

The World Bank has projected that global timber demand may quadruple by 2050, representing a growing threat to the sustainable management of the world’s forest resources if virgin resources alone are to fulfill this demand. This makes the reuse of timber products increasingly important. The recent EU Circular Economy Action Plan proposed revising material recovery targets set in EU legislation for construction and demolition waste, the introduction of recycled content requirements for certain construction products, and promoting measures to improve the durability and adaptability of buildings and developing digital logbooks for buildings to track material use and reuse.

Timber recovered from the demolition of buildings in Ireland is currently chipped and used either for energy generation in Northern Ireland, reconstituted into pallets, or land-filled. A number of issues hinder the recapture of timber for reuse as a building product, including the absence of grading guidelines and lack of a market for salvaged timber. There are also difficulties in dismantling buildings to salvage timber and the difficulty of embedded nails, screws or indeed glues or other chemicals which can restrict its reuse. Architects have a role to play in addressing these last issues, as how we design a building to be assembled will impact how easy it is to disassemble.

This semester we will review the theories and practice on Designing for Disassembly & Reuse (DfDR), and make small design studies on how to a building could be designed to optimize recovery of its timber components for reuse.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

60
Autonomous Student Learning

30
Lectures

16
Practical

10
Total

116
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Approaches will include:
1. Lectures
2. Critical review and writing
3. Problem-based learning
4. Student Presentations
5. Virtual Site Visits (if possible)
6. Peer reviews 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Group Work Assignment: Project 1: Journal Article Review - Summary Paper Week 4 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

15

 No
Group Work Assignment: Presentation on Design Study Week 11 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

30

 No
Group Work Assignment: Project 1: Journal Article Review - Presentation Week 4 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

10

 No
Group Work Assignment: Final Report on Design Study Week 14 Standard conversion grade scale 40% No

45

 No

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Summer No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Self-assessment activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Written feedback on the essay and associated presentation will be provided after submission by the Module Coordinator. Continuous feedback will be provided on the design project prior to assessment. Following assessment written feedback will be provided by the Module Coordinator.