Green Buildings

Regular or Steel-Reinforced Laminated Wood Structures

Architectural and engineering services for the design and development of wood buildings and major structures in regular or steel-reinforced laminated wood.

Timber is considered a strategic material for the development of sustainable buildings because, if harvested and manufactured under certain criteria (1), it represents a renewable raw material.  Therefore, GBF offers an integrated service of architectural and structural design specifically focused on this type of structures, either made of hardwood, laminated or steel-reinforced laminated wood. The implementation of wood is fairly common at an international level for the development of residential buildings but not for major structures such as, schools, gyms and hospitals even if its exceptional characteristics are optimal for the design of earthquake-proof and fire-proof buildings. Moreover, being a very light structural material, wood is generally implemented in renovation or building-extension projects.

Finally, thanks to the collaboration with Studio Armalam, owner of the steel-reinforced laminated wood patent, we can offer a completely integrated service for the design of major structures capable of bearing heavier loads and spams. For more information please visit the “Steel-reinforced Laminated Wood Structures” webpage under the “Innovation in Technology” section.

(1)   Currently there are many international certifications attesting the level of “sustainability” for the timber harvesting and manufacturing process. For example, the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification, which corresponds to all the types of wood implemented by GBF, certifies that the harvesting process of the raw material is done following specific schedules and measures to allow the continuous regeneration of the forests.