Actis sponsors annual Structural Timber Awards

Actis is sponsoring one of the categories at this year’s Structural Timber Awards this month. 

Now in their sixth year, the Structural Timber Awards celebrate the great, the good and the simply outstanding in design, construction and engineering in the timber industry.

The ceremony will take place virtually on January 27.

This year sees nearly 160 entries from more than 100 companies compete for the top place in each of 17 categories – with the custom and self-build category sponsored by Actis.

And to make the event seem more like a ‘real life’ happening, Actis will have a virtual booth offering information on how the company can help and a chance to chat to its specification manager and award presenter Dan Anson-Hart.

The awards are a celebration of innovation, best practice and expertise in timber technology and look at the diverse ways in which timber contributes to the UK’s built environment. 

Actis has worked with many timber frame specialists over the years and is an advocate for offsite production.

Dan said: “Offsite production is much quicker than brick and block, making it an ideal way to build the homes we so desperately need here.

“But speed is just one of its merits. It is not speed at the cost of quality. Far from it. Construction within a factory environment means each stage of the process is carefully measured, with construction details clearly laid down, to ensure the performance of the final building is as predicted. From a thermal point of view a timber frame building can be much more efficient than its traditional equivalent.

“Elements such as wiring, plumbing and insulation take place in the factory. Our insulation systems, which can eliminate thermal bridging and in real life deliver or improve on the U-values predicted under lab conditions, take between 25 and 50% less time to install than traditional alternatives, which all helps to speed up the process.”

Actis works closely with the STA and last year they collaborated on the consultation document for the government’s proposed revisions to Parts L and F of the Building Regulations – the first step towards its Future Homes Standard.

The Structural Timber Association says timber will play a critical role as the UK strives to reach its 2030 and 2050 net zero targets.

“Many answers to the problems surrounding sustainability and wider circular economy can be found in the wider use of timber with the lowest embodied carbon of any mainstream construction material,” it says.

“Allied to this, advances in digital design are consistently improving the quality and performance of timber systems and enabling manufacturers to produce high-specification buildings. Many examples of this you will find showcased at the Structural Timber Awards, where organisations across the UK are taking timber to extraordinary new levels of quality.”