Edinburgh Napier University

  The aim of this project is to determine the potential for the symbiosis of renewable resource (forestry, woody bio-mass and naturally replenishable) and the high value manufacture of a resilient and sustainable built environment leveraging the potential of Industry 4.0 (Digitisation). The objectives of the project are therefore as follows:
• Create a product family architecture (catalogue of building systems and components) capable of being formed from home grown timber resource including for example cellulose insulation, mass timber components (CLT, GLT, NLT and DLT), sub-assemblies (I-Joists, roof trusses)
• Enrich these digital objects with information as necessary and available (conducting a gap analysis) such as density, thermal conductivity, structural attributes, manufacturing productivity, environment impact and cost etc
• Utilise these products to create a range of standardised systems for wall floor and roof systems capable of being mass customised for a range of circumstances both domestic and non-domestic.
• Apply the products and system to a series of design scenarios in order to quantify the impact of specifying homegrown timber options and apply a scaling effect to this.
• Capture and disseminate the information created from the digitisation project via available channels in order to maximise outreach and influence future investment decisions.