 |
In July 2009 Wales is the featured nation at the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival on the Mall in Washington DC and we have been invited to exhibit a Ty Unnos as part of the Wales exhibit for the ten days of the festival.
Ty Unnos ( a house of one night) is a building system specifically developed to produce energy efficient, affordable houses using homegrown timber. It is a result of a two year collaboration by Coed Cymru,The Design Reseasrch Unit at The Welsh School of Architecture and Bangor University. The work has been supported by Countryside Council for Wales, Wood Knowledge Wales, Forestry Commission and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Principal consultants are Cowley Timberwork and Burroughs.
The structure is very different from other modern methods of timber frame in that it has been specifically developed to accommodate the properties of homegrown softwood. This tends to be less stable than the slower grown imported material which is invariably chosen by UK timber frame manufacturers.
The system consists of a series of portal frames made from spruce box beams. Secondary ladder beams span between these frames to form floor and ceiling joists and wall studs. It has excellent structural properties, incorporates very high levels of insulation and is highly adaptable to local building traditions.
the structure was assembled at Elements Europe's Chirk factory by RPM Services using components manufactured by Kenton Jones Ltd. Softwood for the project was supplied by Pontrilas Timber, BSW Esgair Estates. Hardwoods were supplied by Wentwood Timber Centre, Pembrokeshire Timber and Heartwood. The cladding was Corus of Caersws
Elements Europe Ltd of Oswestry exhibited a single storey starter home at the National Eisteddfod in August and a two storey version which won the award for offsite construction at Interbuild 2008. Ty Unnos recently won the following awards:-
TRADA 75th Anniversary Award;
Cardiff University Innovation Network Innovation Prize;
Chartered Institute of Building International Award for Architecture and Surveying;
A model of the Ebbw Vale Environmental Classroom forms part of the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition this year.
Over 1 million normally visit the Festival which includes the July 4th holiday. With a new President and a new optimism in the USA the organisers are confident of a festival to remember.
We would like to thank our collaborators for their vital contribution to this project and you will find website references for all the above mentioned partners below:-
Design Research Unit, Welsh School of Architecture
Elements Europe Oswestry
Smithsonian Festival
Smithsonian Institute
Kenton Jones Kitchens
Corus
Cowley Timberwork
BSW
Pontrilas Timber
Pembrokeshire Timber
UPM TilhillM
NEO fabrication - Phone 01686 650 777
Coed Cymru, The Old Sawmill,
Tregynon, Newtown,
Powys SY16 3PL
Tel 01686 650 777
|
|
