Profiles of Top Architects and Builders Using Glulam
Gulam is rapidly gaining favor as an architect’s go-to construction material due to its lower embodied energy footprint than concrete and steel, stronger pound-for-pound strength, faster installation times and shorter project duration.
Glulam is composed of laminated wood layers that are stacked and bonded together, using stronger wood for its bottom and top layers, while less stressed areas may use laminates with lower strength classes.
Moshe Safdie
Pound for pound, glulam is stronger than steel and can be found in straight, curved or arched designs. Its fabrication involves laminating kiln-dried lumber which has been stress-tested before being pressed together using weather-proof glues resulting in long-spanning customizable shapes. Furthermore, its strength, durability, and corrosion resistance makes glulam an ideal material to choose for projects which must withstand time.
Safdie has designed buildings throughout North and South America, the Middle East, and Asia; including cultural institutions; neighborhoods; public parks; housing; as well as socially responsible design principles which focus on human scale, openness to nature and urbanism and flexible spaces that accommodate multiple uses. He is best known for exploring socially responsible design practices with flexible spaces that accommodate multiple uses – an approach known as socially responsible design.
Safdie made his mark by exploring the relationship between human scale and place, with lush gardens integrated into high-density housing developments such as Sky Habitat Residential Development (2016) in Toronto, Jewel Changi Airport (2018) in Singapore, and Raffles City Chongqing (2020) in China.
The Moshe Safdie Archive at McGill University is one of Canada’s largest individual architectural archives, housing over 140,000 drawings, over 200 architectural models and extensive project files.
Binkley Construction architects use glulam as an integral structural component in their projects, providing innovative, durable, and beautiful structures that meet all required ANSI A190.1 Structural Glued Laminated Timber standards. Get in touch with us to explore this option further and how glulam could make a difference in your next building endeavor! APA certified glulam comes in many different sizes that can be cut to your exact dimensions using quality controlled systems for manufacture; its trademark assures you of this assurance ANSI A190.1 Structural Glued Laminated Timber standards compliance!
Kengo Kuma
Kengo Kuma is a modern architect renowned for his use of traditional Japanese materials and his concept of linking spaces through natural elements. His work uses transparency to highlight nature while light sculpts space in unique structures which integrate perfectly into their environments.
Kuma’s designs serve as a reminder to architects to consider the environment, culture and people residing within their buildings when designing them. He shows that architecture should provide more than aesthetic pleasure; instead it should enhance human experience.
His use of natural materials such as glulam and stone reflects his belief that architecture must coexist with nature rather than overshadow it. His structures celebrate their surroundings while remaining delicate yet monumental at once.
Glulam is an ideal material choice for Kuma’s designs due to its strength and beauty. With inherent load-bearing properties that make it suitable for shear walls and cores, as well as being easily formed into complex roofs and walls through shaping techniques, glulam can reduce construction time dramatically by being prefabricated in a shop and shipped dry directly to project sites for rapid installation.
Glulam’s natural thermal properties help prevent heat loss, and its structure can be further insulated for improved energy efficiency. Furthermore, glulam works in concert with other building systems such as concrete and steel structures for optimal use; its structural integrity extends lifespans of building components such as doors and windows reducing costs and environmental impacts as a result. Finally, as a carbon sink material glulam can offset emissions produced by other materials while sequestering carbon dioxide through its lifetime.
David Salmela
Glulam, or glued laminated timber, is a structural wood product manufactured by laminating pieces of kiln-dried, stress-tested lumber together to form laminations that are then pressed using a hydraulic press and secured using durable moisture-resistant adhesives that run parallel with their length for improved strength and stability. Grain runs along its length for improved strength and stability and it is often used as a load bearing structure in construction for beams, walls, bridges or elevated walkways due to its superior strength, durability and aesthetic value.
David Salmela of Minnesota is an architect known for using glulam to design elegant structures that defy gravity. Born on a dairy farm, Salmela taught himself design before winning regional awards for his Scandinavian-influenced designs that draw upon Minnesotan heritage. Since 2003, Salmela Architects has won more awards and completed over 50 projects successfully.
Salmela utilizes glulam in his residential designs to bring character and warmth, combining elegance with structural integrity. Many of his homes feature large exposed beams made of glulam material – perfect for showing the structure visible within a room – making the structure visible throughout its existence. Finished with wood veneer or left natural, glulam is an attractive and long-term material which can be shaped into any architectural shape desired.
Architects and builders worldwide utilize glulam as a building material of all shapes and sizes, from long-spanning bridges to towering buildings to high-rise offices. Due to its low embodied energy requirements for production, transportation, treatment, etc. it makes an eco-friendly material choice that requires less energy for manufacture, transport and treatment than concrete or steel products.
Gulam’s unique cellular structure also makes it an excellent earthquake-resilient building material. Furthermore, its fireproof qualities offer an ideal alternative to concrete and steel by resisting flame spread while quickly charring to create a protective barrier between oxygen reaching and consuming other building materials.
John Ronan
Glulam (glued laminated timber) is a structural wood product composed of wood laminations adhered together with durable adhesives to form strong and stable laminates that run along the length of each wood member for added strength and support. Glulam can be tailored to create straight, curved or arched members in any size or shape as well as combined with steel or concrete for additional support and strength.
Glulam has long been a favorite of architects and builders due to its versatility, aesthetic appeal, and strength-to-weight ratio. It can be easily formed into intricate patterns or curves for ballrooms or wedding chapels while its strength enables large open spaces without blocking views – adding romance and tranquility with every piece.
John Ronan FAIA is an architect who holds both a Master of Architecture degree from Harvard Graduate School of Design and Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan. He has designed several glulam buildings such as the Kingsway Pedestrian Bridge in Burnaby, B.C. This bridge features concrete support piers with glulam arches for support purposes; post tensioned precast concrete walkway decking completes this structure.
Glulam is an eco-friendly building material as it makes use of wood from sustainable forests, typically spruce or pine wood that can be sourced locally. Furthermore, glulam’s resistance to corrosion and rot make it suitable for harsh weather conditions; making it suitable for bridges over rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. Plus its low thermal conductivity saves on energy consumption too.
Snohetta
Glulam is a natural, sustainable and visually appealing building material. Not only is it stronger than steel or concrete but its carbon footprint is significantly smaller as well.
Glulam, typically constructed of lamellas or strips of timber (usually Douglas Fir, Cedar or Alaskan Yellow Cedar) that have been bound together with moisture-resistant adhesives to form beams and columns, is designed for load bearing applications like beams and columns. Available in various shapes and sizes to meet structural requirements–including arched members–glulam is versatile material that meets them all.
Like many engineered wood products, glulam is produced by laminating smaller pieces of kiln-dried, stress-graded lumber into larger dimensions before laminating and adhering them together under pressure to form one large dimension member. Sometimes steel reinforcement or fiber reinforcement is added where increased loads may occur.
The production process for glulam begins by selecting and cutting lumber to length. To create longer lengths than are typically available with sawn lumber, end-jointed timber is end trimmed before joints were sealed with structural resin such as RF curing melamine formaldehyde or phenol formaldehyde for sealing purposes. Once sealed, glued laminates were then compressed under heat and pressure in order to ensure an indestructible bond was created between laminate pieces.
Once fabricated, glulam can be finished to match the design of any structure. Framing and Industrial grade appearance Glulam typically is used in hidden areas that do not visible to the public while Architectural and Premium grade appearance Glulam should be utilized on exposed elements of a structure.
Glulam stands out not only with its strength and beauty, but also for its record in fire safety. Due to its massive size and construction, glulam offers inherent resistance against fire with outer layers charring quickly to help protect interior parts from damage while slowing the spread of flame through its structure.