The GoGo Tours office building at Bahialaan, Brainpark III in Rotterdam is the first building in the commercial sector to have used this technology. The building has 40m3 of Accoya® cladding, planed and edge laminated to panels before being finished with white translucent.
Accoya®, are the creators of ‘a new wood species’ that boast performance properties that match or exceed those of the very best tropical hardwoods. It is non- toxic, does not crack and is sourced only from sustainable plantations. And because of its non-toxic attributes, it is extremely stable making it exceptionally easy to maintain, saving both in environmental and financial cost.
The move into commercial property developments give strong indication of the opportunities for Accoya® and BSW Timber, which has signed an exclusive agreement with Titan Wood to be the sole supplier of Accoya® across the UK and Ireland.
Evert Laarman of GLC Houtconstructies, which selected Accoya® after evaluating a range of other cladding products, said he had been pleased with the performance of Accoya®.
"This method of exterior laminating is difficult to achieve with other woods but Accoya® wood's stability and the absence of cracks in the wood makes it ideal and very durable. Accoya® wood is a welcome addition to the cladding market."
John Alexander, head of business development at BSW Timber, said: "This office building reflects the growing interest in Accoya® from the commercial sector and represents the culmination of years of extensive engineering, product testing field testing and market review. Anything other than the very low maintenance Accoya® offers in coated timber cladding would be have precluded the use of wood from this commercial building.
"Market development is progressing incredibly well and there has been an impressive response from architects and developers."
Industry experts have supported Accoya's® performance and sustainability claims. Both the British Research Establishment and Napier University’s Centre for Timber Engineering reporting an unprecedented minimum 60-year service life for the product in cladding and external joinery applications. And the Paint Advisory Bureau has also published research findings that show Accoya® windows are the most cost effective option over the standard design life of a building, outperforming PVC, hardwood and softwoods. |