Reach for the sky

Constructed entirely in timber, Murray Grove is the tallest modern timber residential building in the world.

THE NINE-STORY tower contains both private and affordable housing in the form of 29 apartments, and substantial commercial space on the ground floor.

The building uses a unique cross-laminated timber panel system pioneered by Austria’s KLH and the apartments generate a honeycomb structure around a central core. Each of the panels was pre-fabricated at KLH’s factory, including cut-outs for windows and doors, then craned into position onsite, dramatically reducing build time. In fact, only three workmen were required to assemble the whole structure in a remarkable nine-week period.

A platform construction configuration sees each floor set on the walls below, before another set of walls is raised above it all the way to the roof. Joints are secured with screws and angle plates, and stresses are generally very low throughout the structure. Progressive collapse is avoided by providing redundancy such that any single element can be removed if needed.

The timber itself is untreated and relies on the building envelope for protection from damp and rot. Timber has traditionally been associated with poor acoustic performance. KLH’s cross-laminated panels, however, have a higher density than traditional timber frame structures, while the independent, separate layers on a solid structural core further help to overcome acoustic or sound transfer issues.

The buildings sustainable credentials are impressive. The architects own calculations suggest that to build the equivalent structure in concrete would produce approximately 67,500 kg of carbon, plus about 57,250 kg of carbon to produce the necessary steel supports.

Timber, on the other hand, absorbs carbon throughout its natural life, and continues to do store that carbon when cut. Throughout the life of the fabric of Murray Grove, it will store an estimated 186,000 kg of carbon, leading to total reduction in the carbon load of the building of over 310 tonnes.

The building’s carbon saving over 21 years, meanwhile, will offset the total carbon produced in the building’s creation ,including transportation of the panels from Austria, while additional renewable energy is generated by photovoltaic panels on the roof which supply energy for communal lighting and the water booster pump. Murray Grove is insulated and airtight beyond UK standards and a heat recovery
system transfers 70 per cent of heat which would normally be exctracted outside back to the rooms via a ventilation system.

PROJECT DETAILS
Client: Telford Homes PLC
Structural engineer: Techniker Ltd
Architect: Waugh Thistleton Architects