Wood Industry Joins in Congratulations

6 July 2011

Today is a great day for the wood industry, says Doug Ducker, chairman of Woodco, following its winning entry into the 48 hour design competition for the Christchurch CBD, which took place over the last weekend.

Not only did NZ Wood, Woodco’s promotional organisation, win the supreme award from 14 other teams, but NZ Wood also contributed to one of the other entries which won the architectural award. These top two awards were both timber solutions using advanced designs and engineered timbers.

“This drives home the point that modern wood products and systems are exactly what is required in the rebuild of Christchurch.

“We all know that people want safe buildings that can withstand further shaking. They are suspicious of multi-storey masonry structures because of their poor record in the recent quakes.

“The damage avoidance timber technology being developed at Canterbury University not only is extremely safe allowing for safe egress during an earthquake, but the building is also very likely to be intact after a quake for quick reoccupation and ongoing use. This would avoid long and expensive rebuilds after any future quakes,” says Mr Ducker.

The NZ Wood team, led by Jason Guiver, director of NZ Wood Timber Design Centre, was made up of seven people including leading Christchurch architect Jasper van der Lingen, urban designer Dr Jackie Bowring of Lincoln University, engineer Chris Speed of Dunning Thornton, architect and graphics designer Paul King, landscape architect Di Lucas and Canterbury University engineering student Ben Carter.

The wood industry firmly believes it has the right solutions to meet the specific needs of Christchurch. We have a unique opportunity with the situation in Christchurch to provide safe and durable solutions that meet the expectations of the people of the city who will live and work there in the future. These are also solutions that will have application in other earthquake-prone parts of the world.

“We recognise that the best solutions come from close consultation with local experts along with the local community. Wood is also a sustainable product which is in line with the strong sustainability beliefs that are held by many Cantabrians.

“The wood industry is committed to support the people of Christchurch and producing design and product solutions for a positive future,” he says.

ENDS

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