Building sustainably seems, suddenly, to be a sine qua non for contemporary architecture. Yet the issues involved have been fundamental to good architecture since the earliest of times, a fact confirmed by even the most cursory reading of Vitruvius’ ‘Ten Books of Architecture’, a series of Roman tomes that placed great emphasis on siting, orientation, natural light, heat and ventilation and the availability of appropriate local materials.

And, until the mid-19th century, this was the way architects designed buildings, with waste reduction implicit in their thinking. The Industrial Revolution and factory production changed all this, of course, and it is ironic that now, in the most successful period of global industrialisation, the fear of irreversible environmental damage from global warming is driving demand for a return to the first principles of architectural design and towards increased use of local natural materials.

In these circumstances, there has been a huge upswing in demand for more timber to be used in new buildings, and with it a consequent requirement to marry the technological developments of the last 200 years to a more environmentally-responsible attitude to design. A series of recent projects in Scotland seeks to apply the principles of sustainable design to larger scale commercial and education buildings.

The first of these, a new headquarters in Inverness for Scottish Natural Heritage, had no small measure of controversy attached to its construction. Not only was it one of the earliest examples under the devolved Parliament of a public agency being relocated from Edinburgh, but it also used the Public Private Partnership procurement route. Given its name and purpose, it was inconceivable that the new building would be allowed to be anything other than an exemplar of sustainable construction and, from the outset, Keppie Architects aimed for the highest BREEAM rating.

The building makes extensive use of timber, most obviously with horizontal and vertical external cladding of European larch sourced from the FSC accredited local Novar Estate. Using untreated 145x25mm standard sections available from the sawmill avoided the need for further machining and timber louvres of the same section are used within a galvanised steel frame on the south and west elevations of the building’s atrium.

The majority of the walls are timber frame, but sustainable construction within larger PPP projects is often subordinate to cost considerations and, without a glulam manufacturing facility in Scotland, the posts and beams used as the primary structure of the atrium and library were sourced from further afield, as was the laminated timber used for transoms and mullions in the curtain walling of the atrium gables.

The brief for HLI Architects for the new Forestry Commission district offices at Smithton was explicit in its requirement for ‘a sustainable exemplar building with an emphasis on local timber use’. This was further defined as the use of hardwoods for finishes; softwoods for structure and external cladding; and locally manufactured board products as well as the avoidance of unsustainable chemical-based timber treatments; the use of natural methods of modifying timber to enhance its performance and thereby open up new opportunities for timbers not normally used for cladding; and to find unusual and demonstrative ways of using timber. On top of these demands, the ‘road miles’ travelled by the materials were to be restricted.

The resultant structure called for 12m lengths of Douglas fir, and whilst these sizes are difficult to obtain from homegrown stock, the Forestry Commission was able to supply suitable timbers from its own stands beside Loch Ness. The timbers were felled, trimmed and transported to Carpenter Oak and Woodland’s sawmill at Kirriemuir, the only facility in Scotland capable of handling such large sections. The 'green' timber was subsequently air dried on site.

Externally, untreated European larch from the Forestry Commission’s own woodlands at Fort Augustus was used to clad the gables and the soffits of the protective roof overhangs. The rest of the cladding is Scots pine, a timber that would not normally be considered for this purpose. Using furfuryl alcohol in a natural impregnation process, however, the material has been modified to enhance its dimensional stability, durability and insect resistance. The process produces a pleasing warm colour and – from a technical satisfaction standpoint – comes with a 30 year guarantee.

The third example of sustainable construction implants a similar understanding of timber within an education – and training – project. ECOSpace at Lauder College in Dunfermline by RMJM Architects supports the learning needs of around 400 construction apprentices each year as well as providing life skills, work-base and vocational training for around 300 students with additional support needs. With its structure, detailing and method of assembly visible throughout, the new building offers students the opportunity to investigate and explore the sustainable principles employed in its design and construction.

The aim is to encourage ECOSpace students to become more aware of environmental issues, building materials and sustainable construction techniques. The main structural frame of the building is formed from very long, untreated Douglas fir timbers sourced from managed forests. Carpenter Oak & Woodland felled the trees and manufactured the frame, with students on hand to learn more about the specific skills required to assemble large scale timber structures.

Reassuringly, these three projects are far from being isolated examples of new, large scale, sustainable timber structures in Scotland – the next generation is beginning to emerge on sites around the country, each one extending the knowledge and experience gained to date a little further. As with all natural materials, learning never ends.

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