How Glulam Enables Large Open Spaces

Glulam is an ideal material choice for large open spaces that require long spans, such as sports arenas or commercial showrooms. Glulam offers strength and beauty needed to achieve grand architecture.

Gulam usage has steadily been increasing across a wide range of public and private structures – from parks to airport terminals – due to several contributing factors, including:

Strength-to-Weight Ratio

Gulam’s strength and stiffness allow it to span great distances with no or minimal intermediate supports, making it ideal for large-span roofs. Furthermore, its lighter weight than traditional structural materials like steel makes installation in the field faster while lowering labor costs – contributing towards faster construction times and reduced labor costs.

Glulam’s natural wood insulation properties offer additional structural and energy bill savings benefits, particularly useful when seeking environmental certifications like LEED. These savings may significantly lower heating and cooling expenses for buildings; something which glulam makes especially relevant.

Gulam is an environmentally-friendly option due to being made from waste wood pieces that would otherwise become landfill, making it more sustainable than materials such as steel. Furthermore, its design flexibility allows glulam to be manufactured into either straight or curved configurations for greater design freedom.

Glulam’s versatility means it can be applied to a range of project types. For instance, bridges and pavilions often utilize this material, and its custom curvilinear shapes make for interesting interior environments such as airport terminals, schools and community centers – it creates open spaces with warm yet inviting aesthetics that contribute to their popularity.

Glulam’s fireproof properties make it an invaluable choice for many projects. While steel can warp and distort in high temperatures, glulam maintains its integrity in such conditions to meet stringent safety and longevity regulations.

No matter if it’s for residential homes or commercial complexes, glulam offers the ideal solution. Contact us now to see how glulam can enhance your next project – from design consultation through precision fabrication. We are always there when needed!

Versatility

Glulam is an adaptable construction material that allows builders to craft distinctive structures. Thanks to its strength, long spans are possible without additional columns or supports, while its shape enables architects to create stunning rooflines or artistic architectural features. Furthermore, being manufactured from wood from renewable forests means it meets green building standards while simultaneously reducing environmental footprint.

Glulam beams do not need multiple treatments to maintain their durability, like steel beams do. Instead, their natural durability means they can stand up against all weather elements without suffering damage, while preservative treatments can further extend its life expectancy. All wood can still be susceptible to insect attacks and moisture fluctuations but keeping the structure properly ventilated and using sealing techniques can minimize such issues.

Durability extends to fire resistance of glulam as well. While more research needs to be conducted into how it performs under fire conditions, studies to date have demonstrated that it can withstand far greater pressure than steel and even provide additional structural support during a blaze due to wood’s cell structure.

Glulam boasts superior thermal properties that can prevent thermal bridge formation. When combined with other insulation materials, it can further increase energy efficiency of a building, leading to reduced heating and cooling system requirements, ultimately saving both homeowners and businesses money on energy bills.

Although glulam offers numerous advantages over steel beams for construction projects requiring long structural spans – such as sports arenas or gymnasiums – its cost effectiveness may outweigh this advantage in these instances. But for residential, commercial, and special purpose buildings that need to support open spaces glulam can provide the ideal solution.

Aesthetics

When specifying beams for vaulted ceilings or intricate trusses in modern art museums and historic churches, glulam beams are frequently chosen due to both their beauty and strength. Their natural wood appearance creates an inviting aesthetic in homes and other light commercial buildings while hidden glulam can serve as the framework of roof systems, garage door headers, floor beams or other essential structural components – providing open space aesthetics while remaining strong structural support components.

Glulam building materials have natural weatherproofing capabilities, making maintenance costs lower while increasing lifespan of any glulam structure.

Gulam wood flooring not only showcases its beauty but it has an environmental benefit too. Produced with sustainably managed forests that prioritize environmental considerations, this material is recyclable. Furthermore, production uses smaller pieces that would otherwise be considered waste, thus minimizing resource consumption.

Glulam’s strength enables builders to construct large-span projects that require expansive unobstructed spaces like sporting arenas and gymnasiums, stadiums and airport terminals without obstruction by columns; its wide spans support maximum available activity space and visitors.

Gulam is also more flexible than other materials, enabling the construction of complex curved structures which would be impossible or very expensive using conventional construction materials.

An example would be using a curved glulam structure as the roof support for a sports arena or gymnasium, as this design can allow the building to accommodate thousands of spectators while providing space for athletes to practice various sports and games.

While glulam can be produced in various appearance classifications, it’s up to the designer to note any specific requirements for their project. In general though, glulam tends to outshone steel when it comes to structural applications because its higher bending and compression strengths enable it to meet or surpass most building codes’ performance requirements.

Sustainability

As the design and construction industries shift toward sustainability principles, glulam continues to be an adaptable, eco-friendly choice for high performance projects. From screened porches to custom decks, glulam beams add natural beauty and strength to homes, buildings and public structures alike. Built to last generations without additional support columns required glulam provides open spaces without additional support columns being necessary.

Governments and communities around the globe are taking proactive steps to combat climate change and environmental challenges, using efficient construction techniques like Glulam that support these efforts by reducing building-related emissions and energy use; while also offering significant cost savings compared to conventional materials.

Gulam outperforms conventional concrete and steel structures when it comes to carbon footprint throughout its lifecycle, due to its lower embodied energy, superior thermal insulation properties, compatibility with energy-efficient building systems and ability to be manufactured offsite, which reduces construction-related emissions by decreasing personnel on-site.

Regional considerations also play a factor in the sustainability performance of glulam buildings. Europe and North America demonstrate consistent success with regards to both cradle-to-grave emissions from these structures compared with traditional concrete and steel structures, typically 28-70% lower due to advanced forest certification schemes, investment in renewable energy sources and optimized logistic networks. By comparison, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa tend to exhibit significantly higher emission burdens largely resulting from unsustainable logging practices, inefficient energy production systems and weak end-of-life wood management systems.

Building sustainability requires taking into account how a structure’s materials are sourced and utilized. One particularly advantageous material to consider when assessing sustainability in buildings is glulam, a natural, renewable resource with low embodied energy requirements and excellent carbon storage potential – making it an attractive alternative to fossil fuels or other carbon intensive construction materials.

An impressive project recently used glulam to construct a massive indoor-outdoor space with an expansive playing field and seating for spectators. Thanks to glulam’s versatility, project team were able to craft an outstanding open space that met client specifications while creating an inviting ambiance.