WWW.IRISHTIMBER.

ORG

Innovations in Timber Construction

Industry Seminar
Date:

16 October 2015 (Friday)

Time:

10:30 17:00

Venue:

National University of Ireland, Galway,

New Engineering Building, North Campus, Room: ENG 2052

About
Innovative new technologies and building systems have created new opportunities for
construction in timber. Advances in offsite construction technology have resulted in high levels of
prefabrication which, together with rapid construction times, have made building with timber
competitive with other construction materials. This seminar exposes those involved in the Irish
construction industry to recent developments in timber construction and highlights the
opportunities that exist to significantly increase timber usage in the delivery of public, residential
and commercial buildings. The focus here is primarily on educational buildings.

Programme
10:30-11:00
11:00-11:15
11:15-12:00
12:00-12:45
12:45-13:00
13:00-13.45
13.45 -14:15
14:15-14.45
14.45-15.15
15:15-16:00
16:00-16:45
16:45-17:00

Registration & Coffee/Tea

Introduction
Dr. Annette Harte, NUIG
CLT in Construction UK Experience
Mr. Liam Dewar, EURBAN, UK
Mayfield School Project
Mr. Kay Hartmann, KLH, UK
Q&A
Lunch break
Irish Pavilion, Milan Expo
Mr. Ciaran OConnor, OPW
SIP Solutions for Public Buildings
Mr. John Moylan, SIP Energy
Towards Nearly Zero Energy School Buildings
Mr. Niall Lowther, Department of
Education and Skills
Innovation in Irish Timber Usage
Dr. Annette Harte, NUIG
Dr. Daniel McPolin, QUB
Laboratory visit
Dr. Karol Sikora, NUIG
Close

This seminar is free of charge. However, the number of places is limited.

To book your place, please register online at www.irishtimber.org by October 12th.

Aim
The aim of this seminar is to expose those involved in the Irish construction industry to recent
developments in timber construction and to highlight the opportunities that exist to significantly increase
timber usage in the delivery of public, residential and commercial buildings.
Speakers will present some cross-laminated timber (CLT) buildings that have been recently constructed
in the UK, including some large educational buildings. The use of structural insulated panels (SIPs) in two
public buildings will be presented as will the design of the Irish Pavilion at the Milan Expo. The
Governments green procurement policy and the Department of Education and Skills policy in relation to
nZEB school design will be discussed also. Finally, opportunities for the development of highperformance construction products using Irish-grown timber will be presented by researchers from NUI
Galway and QUB, who are working on a Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marinefunded research project, Innovation in Irish Timber Usage. These products include CLT and moment
connections and reinforced timber elements using glued-in basalt FRP rods.
Who should attend?
Architects, Structural Engineers, Contractors, Lecturers and other stakeholders in the building sector.
The event is held in conjunction with Engineers Ireland, West Region and is CPD approved by Engineers
Ireland and the RIAI (6 CPD points).
Speakers
Liam Dewar is Director of Eurban Limited, a UK consultancy and construction company that specialises in the design, supply and
installation of solid timber building structures. Having introduced CLT to the UK 10 years ago, Eurban has been instrumental in
the development of the CLT market in the UK having delivered more than half of the UKs CLT buildings to date.
Kay Hartmann is Technical Director of KLH UK. Projects worked on include Archway Early Years Centre, City Academy, West
London Academy, Red Lodge School, St Matthew's School, Forte' Melbourne and William Perkin C of E School. KLH UK is a
specialist supplier of CLT panels providing consultation, design, supply and erection services to the construction industry.
Ciaran OConnor is State Architect/Principal Architect in the Office of Public Works. He played a key role in the development of
the governments Green Public Procurement document for Construction. He has received numerous Architectural, Conservation
and Landscape awards including the RIAI Triennial Medal for Restoration 2001, the prestigious Europa Nostra Medal in 1997 and
the European Award for Cultural Heritage in 2007.
John Moylan is a Director of SIP Energy, a leading manufacturer of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) across a number of
industrial sectors including Construction, Transport & Refrigeration. SIPs are one of a suite of Modern Methods of
Construction, which provide an effective way to build high quality, efficient buildings. SIP Energy illustrate the use of SIP on a
large secondary school and local authority public building (visitor centre), and the benefits of both.
Niall Lowther is an Architect in the Department of Education & Skills. A certified Passive House Designer, he was Project
Architect on Irelands first schools designed to achieve the Passive House Standard. He is currently involved in the development
of in-house research projects aimed at achieving the Nearly Zero Energy Building (nZEB) targets
Annette Harte is a Senior Lecturer in Engineering and Vice-Dean of the College of Engineering and Informatics at NUI Galway,
where she heads up the Timber Engineering Research Group. She is co-ordinator of the research project Innovation in Irish
Timber Usage.
Daniel McPolin is a Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering at Queens University, Belfast. Special interests include timber
engineering, specifically timber connections and reinforcement of timber elements. He has been involved in seven Knowledge
Transfer Partnerships with industry and is a Principal Investigator of the project Innovation in Irish Timber Usage.
Karol Sikora is a postdoctoral research and adjunct lecturer in Civil Engineering at NUI Galway. He has been working on the
development of CLT panels using Irish timber as part of the project Innovation in Irish Timber Usage.