UC in the City: Benefits of wood as a renewable building material

Date: Tuesday 28 October 2008
Time: 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Location: Christchurch Art Gallery Auditorium
Contact: For further information regarding this event, please contact Michele Downer by sending email to michele.downer@canterbury.ac.nz or by calling 6922
RSVP: Please RSVP for this event by contacting: michele.downer@canterbury.ac.nz Audience: University staff and students

Entry is free. To register your interest phone (03) 364 2470.

Professor Andy Buchanan (Civil and Natural Resources Engineering) will present the second lecture in the 2008 UC in the City Lecture Series on the topic of “Benefits of Wood as a Renewable Building Material”.

Professor Andy Buchanan will be illustrating the benefits of timber building construction for non-residential buildings. The many advantages of using timber as a renewable building material will be highlighted, including lower CO2 emissions and greater carbon sequestration in the building components and associated forests, all of which will help to meet the Government’s carbon neutral objectives. Research into innovative timber building designs will also ensure that large timber buildings are resistant to major earthquakes and safe in extreme weather, fires or other emergencies. The Structural Timber Innovation Company Ltd (STIC) is a new research consortium based on pioneering timber engineering research by Professor Buchanan and his team at the University of Canterbury. The new company, co-funded by government and industry, will lead the development of large-span timber buildings for a wide range of uses in New Zealand, Australia and further afield.

Professor Andy Buchanan is Professor of Timber Design in the department of Civil and Natural Resources Engineering at the University of Canterbury. Professor Buchanan is a graduate of the University and has been lecturing and heading research in the department since 1987, specialising in structural design of timber buildings, earthquake engineering and fire safety of timber, steel and concrete buildings. His publications include the Timber Design Guide and Structural Design for Fire Safety. He is a past president of the New Zealand Timber Design Society.

The lectures in this series are free public addresses suitable for a broad audience. You are welcome to bring friends and family members and to advise others of the lecture.