MultiPly, a nine-metre high, carbon-neutral wooden pavilion made entirely of American tulipwood has opened to the public in the Sackler Courtyard of the V&A in time for the London Design Festival. Source: Timberbiz
The 43m3 of tulipwood that makes up MultiPly stores the equivalent of 30 tonnes of carbon dioxide and is replaced with natural growth in the American forest in five minutes.
The installation is a collaboration between Waugh Thistleton Architects, the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and ARUP, and illustrates how modular cross laminated construction in hardwood is a viable solution to the current housing crisis.
The structure is made with the first UK-manufactured cross laminated timber (CLT) panels.
MultiPly, one of London Design Festival’s Landmark projects, is comprised of a maze-like series of interconnected spaces that overlap and intertwine. It has been conceived and constructed to encourage visitors to re-think the way we design and build our homes and cities.
The three-dimensional structure is built out of a flexible system made of 17 modules of American tulipwood CLT, with digitally fabricated joints.
Like a piece of flat-packed furniture, the pavilion arrived as a kit of parts and has quietly and efficiently been assembled in under a week.
At the crown of the structure is a module with a thermo- assembled in under a week. At the crown of the structure is a module with a thermos-treated tulipwood interior layer – the first time thermally modified timber (TMT) has been incorporated as a protective later in CLT.
Because it is built out of modules, the pavilion can be taken apart and reassembled in a new home after the London Design Festival.
MultiPly confronts two of the current age’s biggest challenges – the pressing need for housing and the urgency to fight climate change and presents the fusion of modular systems and sustainable construction materials as a solution.
“The main ambition of this project is to publicly debate how environmental challenges can be addressed through innovative, affordable construction,” Andrew Waugh, co-founder of Waugh Thistleton Architects said. “We are at a crisis point in terms of both housing and CO2 emissions and we believe that building in a versatile, sustainable material, such as tulipwood, is an important way of addressing these issues.”
To keep up with population growth and deal with years of under supply, around 250,000 new homes would need to be built in the UK every year
“Waugh Thistleton Architects have been pioneering innovative uses of wood in construction for decades. MultiPly explores a new, more sustainable way of building, bringing together a readily available carbon-negative material – American tulipwood – with modular design,” David Venables, European Director of AHEC said.
“AHEC has worked with many great architects – David Adjaye, Alex de Rijke, Alison Brooks, and now Waugh Thistleton – to demonstrate the structural, aesthetic and environmental properties of American tulipwood.”
During the day, the nine-metre high American tulipwood installation promises to be fun and playful. The labyrinthine spaces lead visitors through a series of stairs, corridors and open spaces, inviting them to explore the potential of wood in architecture.
In the evenings, with subtle lighting designed by SEAM, the pavilion becomes a quiet and contemplative space, allowing visitors to reflect on the beauty of its natural material.
