SCOTTISH LARCH CLADDING
WHY CHOOSE SCOTTISH LARCH?
Scottish Larch is a timber sourced from the woods of Scotland. One of the key requirements of my design was to encourage sourcing local, a value which needed to be extended to the materiality choice of the building. The materials also needed to be sustainable, with light environmental impact and economically viable. Therefore, through research I found that Scottish Larch met the majority of this criteria. With the sourcing yard only 4 hours away, the value of sourcing local still plays out in encouraging economic development and construction communties within the UK instead of easily sourcing from abroad. This map shows the distance from Manchester, a meer 242 miles of transportation which can all be achieved by road, reducing carbon footprint in transportation costs.
THE BENEFITS
There are many reasons why choosing Scottish Larch as the main timber cladding of the scheme is benefical economically, environmentally and for the values in which this project holds:
1. Scottish Larch is naturally durable, meaning no harmful preservatives have to be used on the wood.
2. All Scottish timber comes under the government legislation of controlling felling and sustainability, meaning all wood sourced from Scotland can be considered environmentally adequate.
3. The Larch improves energy efficiency as it is a light weight material and does not strain on the overall structure.
4. The timber is renewable and an environementally friendly raw material, low environmental impact.
5. Sourcing from Scottish timber manufacturers encourages economic value within the UK.
6. Scottish Larch costs around £565-£700 per cubic meter (http://www.scottishwood.co.uk/stock.htm)
Colbost House, Dualchas Architects
The Lanes, Mole Architects
Greenacres Woodland Burial Park, Fielden Clegg Bradley
PRECEDENTS OF LARCH CLADDING IN ARCHITECTURE
LARCH CLADDING ON LEAF ST
Cladding will be used on all of the buildings in the scheme, from the retail units to the top parts of the training centre. However, the cladding will create a language across site in conjunction with the brick to idenitify private and public and the degree in which they are. Overall, the larch will represent the public, areas which are freely allowed to be accessed, with the heavy brick identifying the private aspects of the site. The degree of public entity does change with the cladding;
160mm Cladding: Public retail units, allowing continuous access by the people of Hulme and beyond
80mm Cladding: Training Centre (upper half) represents the freedom and engagment that is encouraged in the training spaces
Bringing a simple larch cladding to site, and the raw timber qualities which it holds ties back to the green space that the site once was. Visually allowing that connection back to the natural and relating to the trees which will remain and be replanted on site.
Larch Cladding appearing on the Training Centre and in Retail Units
The cladding across site will all be hung vertically, keeping an upward profile