Designing Timber issue 10 for online - Flipbook - Page 48
———— U-BUILD: THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX ————
made from WISA spruce
plywood, birch or Smartply
OSB. The plywood has zero
added formaldehyde and
comes from FSC-certi昀椀ed
forests. U-Build publish
an Environmental Product
Declaration (EPD).
“U-Build is geared towards
reuse and is based on
patterns that we've created
using standardized sheet
material and the CNC
machines," Ben explains.
"The boxes’ sizes are based
on a 150mm grid, and
sticking to increments of
that 昀椀ts things neatly on a
sheet of plywood."
Therma昀氀eece, who supply
sheeps wool insulation, have
a standardized width of 570mm.
"This 昀椀ts neatly inside the U-Build
box," Ben points out. "It’s a very
easy material to work with by
hand: it doesn’t itch, and works
well thermally and acoustically."
Venturing sustainably
further north
Sustainable Ventures opted
for U-Build for a project in
Manchester called the Renold
Building. Originally built in
1962 as part of the University
of Manchester’s north campus,
the Renold had provided
a home for generations of
engineering students. As with
London, Sustainable Ventures
are reinventing the space to
provide a workspace for local
↓
Nest House, a
3-bedroom U-Builkd
home designed by
Studio Bark and put
together in 2021; ©
Andy Billman.
UNDERSTANDING
DESIGNING TIMBER
48
NOV/DEC 2025
climate-tech businesses that
align with their sustainable
practices. The same system
is being 昀椀tted, only with
improved acoustics.
"They requested more
acoustic separation between
each business unit," Bell tells
us. "So we developed a new
version of the system with
two sections with something
a little like a gasket in the
centre that can move and
prevent sound from passing
through each side.
“There were meeting pods
as well, designed for more
private conversations,
and these were given
extra acoustic dampening:
externally clad in wood
