HybridTim

2020-1-DK01-KA203-075045

Design and Construction of Environmental High Performance Hybrid Engineered Timber Buildings



Description of the Project

Immediate actions need to be taken to reach the sustainability target for 2050 of the European Commission for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and net zero carbon (CO₂) emissions. The HybridTim project meets the huge need for solving sustainability issues and creating sustainable solutions for the design, construction and related sectors to tackle future environmental challenges. It promotes sustainable, environmentally friendly design and construction of hybrid timber buildings.

The majority of today’s buildings are designed and constructed in concrete and steel, producing large amounts of greenhouse gases, i.e. carbon dioxide (CO₂), into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change and global warming. Experts agree that CO₂ absorbing timber is an ideal construction material, when grown in sustainable managed forests, for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Use of engineered wood combines a potential for prefabrication and rapid construction with lower embodied energy and potential delay of carbon emissions during the building’s lifetime. Timber is being used more and more in the construction sector, both in the EU and worldwide.

Future sustainable hybrid timber buildings will be designed and constructed with sustainable engineered timber components, but some amount of steel and concrete construction materials will remain because buildings must satisfy structural, fire prevention, moisture absorption and economic requirements. Timber is best used in combination with other materials, taking advantage of the attributes of each material. Utilizing the high strength to weight ratio of timber, hybrid construction can combine engineered timber with concrete and/or steel to create cost-effective and sustainable building systems. Using the combination of wood, concrete and steel provides a sustainable solution to building structures as well as potential to improve building performance and design.

Architects and engineering companies have already started designing hybrid timber buildings of up to 30 or even more stories. It is assumed that hybrid timber buildings will be the buildings of the future. However, now EU higher education mostly focuses on design and construction of buildings in steel and concrete and only in 1 to 4 storey buildings in timber. Therefore, in order to satisfy the needs of the labour market, it is necessary to prepare students with innovative applied skills in the area of design, construction and onsite construction management of hybrid timber buildings.

To educate new generation of students in sustainable design and construction of hybrid engineered timber buildings, it's necessary to develop and integrate an innovative multi-disciplinary BSc/BA study module at participating and other HEIs, based on project based learning, learning by doing and blended learning approaches.

Project HybridTim aims to fulfill the future demands in higher education of students in design and construction of high environmental performance hybrid engineered timber buildings by trans-disciplinary innovative student-centered learning approaches.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. To develop and deliver new trans-disciplinary module on design and construction of engineered hybrid timber buildings, which meets the needs of the HEIs and labour market representatives.
  2. To improve competencies of students and teachers in problem solving and teamwork, innovative thinking, motivation, awareness of cross-professional project input and project management by using project based learning, learning by doing and blended learning approaches.
  3. To educate all participants (students, teachers, entrepreneurs) in the field of the engineered hybrid timber construction.
  4. To ensure open awareness of the project results to local, national, EU level and international target groups.