New commercial timber guidebook launched in UK

A major collaboration between property developers, insurers, and technical experts has led to the launch of the UK’s first Commercial Timber Guidebook. 

The authors said that the guide, which aims to promote the use of structural timber in office construction, represents a key step toward broader adoption of sustainable timber construction practices within the commercial building sector. Commercial buildings make up 16% of all new UK buildings, according to the Office for National Statistics (March 2023).

The initiative is spearheaded by Elliott Wood, Waugh Thistleton Architects and OFR Consultants, working with specialist insurance consultants Lignum Risk Partners to engage the wider sector. The project, kickstarted with a €200,000 grant from the Built by Nature network and fund, also attracted co-funding and support from major developers Stanhope, British Land, Lendlease, Related Argent, Derwent London, Landsec, MUSE, Berkeley Estate Asset Management (BEAM) and Great Portland Estates -- all seeking to overcome existing barriers to mass timber adoption.

The guidebook aims to drive the adoption of timber by demonstrating both its technical viability and its insurability. The project team worked directly with architects, developers, and engineers to create a consensus of good practice on how to incorporate structural timber into new office buildings. For example, the Guidebook has input from the country’s leading fire engineers, resulting in unprecedented cross-industry consensus around how to achieve fire safety in timber office buildings of various typologies.

The guidebook particularly focuses on good practice for the design of large-scale timber commercial buildings, an essential stage as the lack of consensus on design and construction standards has made it difficult for insurers to accurately assess and price the risk. By providing clear and agreed guidelines, the guidebook helps developers, designers and insurers align on risk mitigation strategies, ensuring that timber buildings can be constructed with confidence.

Built by Nature chief executive Paul King said: “This guidebook is a very significant demonstration of the collaboration that is emerging across the industry, with major developers, designers and insurers coming together to overcome the perceived barriers to using low-carbon timber and natural construction materials in large-scale commercial projects.”

Oliver Schofield, partner at Lignum Risk Partners and managing partner at RISCS CWC commented: “The captive and ART market is a natural home for social sustainability pioneers and we expect to see increased use of captives to incubate the new exposures that come from their ground-breaking research and development to combat the effects of climate change.”

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