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Fear of fire in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy is holding back a switch to more sustainable building materials, a leading architect has told Sky News.
Andrew Waugh of Waugh Thistleton Architects, which is at the forefront of eco-building design, said the construction industry and regulators are too cautious about using engineered timber in tall structures – even though the catastrophe was in a concrete tower.
“We are being held back,” he said.
“(The UK) were the innovators of this material before Grenfell happened.
“Now we have a situation where the rest of the world are changing their building regulations, changing their planning laws and government procurement for housing, hospitals and schools to promote the use of timber.
“And we are alone in the UK in not doing anything to promote the use of timber.”
Mr Waugh designed the new six-storey Black and White Building in east London, the UK’s tallest office block constructed from engineered timber.
Columns and beams are made from cross-laminated timber – layers of wood that have been glued together at different angles – making them stronger than concrete and lighter than steel.
Both Norway and the United States have recently built skyscrapers from the material that are more than 80m in height.
But in the UK, structural timber can only be used in buildings up to 11m tall – or up to 18m if there is a sprinkler system.
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Experts are divided on the risks of engineered timber in a fire. Some argue that the exterior surface only chars, leaving the structural core intact.
But Rory Hadden, a fire safety researcher at Edinburgh University said charring still releases combustible gases -…
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