Designing Timber issue 10 for online - Flipbook - Page 46
U-BUILD: THINKING
OUTSIDE THE BOX
POST AND BEAM:
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE
UNDERSTANDING
↑
Sustainable Workspaces at London's
County Hall, where the U-Build system
really came into its own.
Ben Baker, Production Manager at U-Build, explains a
nifty demountable timber system and the range of uses
it lends itself to...
simple DIY system,
U-Build has a
number of uses, from
domestic garden
studios to large-scale o昀케ce
昀椀t-outs.
A
"Over lockdown it became a
popular solution for people
who were working from
home," Ben points out. "It’s
a very simple way to make a
garden studio. But over time,
people have realised how well
it works for lots of di昀昀erent
typologies - including
commercial interiors."
U-Build uses 昀氀at-pack
wooden panels which are
produced using a computer
controlled cutting machine
(CNC) and are accurate to
0.1 of a millimetre.
A DIY approach
U-Build is designed to
require a handful of standard
tools: a minimum of a rubber
mallet and an electric drill
with attachments. All 昀椀xings
are standard size bolts and
screws, which can typically
supplied with the system or
easily sourced.
The process turns a
designer's design (or one
of U-Build's own templates)
into cutting drawings, costs,
DESIGNING TIMBER
46
and visualisations at the click
of a button. Finalised cutting
drawings are then sent to one of
a network of CNC fabricators,
and a kit of parts is delivered to
site for assembly.
Boxing clever
The panels are assembled into
‘boxes’ which form the building
blocks of the system. These are
stacked and bolted to form the
walls, 昀氀oor and roof structure.
The open boxes are 昀椀lled with
natural sheep’s wool, which is
cut to size to ensure no messy
cutting on site and avoid air
gaps from rough cutting.
The 昀椀nished frame is left exposed
NOV/DEC 2025
