The Timber Research and Development Association (TRADA) is an international membership organisation dedicated to inspiring and informing best practice design, specification and use of wood in the built environment and related fields.
It provides independent, authoritative design and technical guidance through its website, on-line software, printed publications, e-books, and a telephone helpline.
The National Structural Timber Specification for building construction (NSTS) is an ambitious initiative by TRADA to support the rapidly increasing use of timber. It aims to be the definitive, comprehensive, stand-alone national specification for structural timber, complementing the existing national specifications that are widely used for steel and concrete buildings.
Commenting on the new specification document at its launch at ARUP, Rupert Scott, Membership Manager at TRADA said:
“The National Structural Timber Specification is the latest way in which TRADA are helping the construction industry to correctly specify timber and most importantly achieve a great looking result.”
TRADA chairman Nick Milestone added: “The NSTS is a defining document. The industry has been crying out for this for nearly 30 years.”
Collaboration was key to the initiative’s success and Andrew Lawrence, Associate Director at ARUP was particularly impressed by this: “It has been a great collaboration. The entire TRADA membership have been through the document. Most of all, six pier reviewers have gone through every single clause.”
For a long time timber has lacked a stand-alone national specification that other building materials benefit from. Mike Cook, Chairman of Buro Happold said: “The standard specification will make a very big difference for engineers and other design professionals. They will be able to launch off into using timber with just as much confidence as they would when using steel and concrete. That’s what has been missing for far too long and it’s great that TRADA has filled the gap.”
Peter Hansford, Chief Construction Adviser to Government also commented on the initiative: “Construction 2025 is about transforming the industry to become much more efficient, to provide much better value and to be more sustainable. This specification ticks all of those boxes.”
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Nick Myall
News Editor
