African Design Magazine September 2016 | Page 68

Wood wins at ITC-SA timber construction awards

A prominent highlight on the South African timber construction calendar , The Annual Timber Engineered Product Awards , hosted by the Institute for Timber Construction ( ITC-SA ) at Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg in August , showcased and rewarded top class workmanship in the fields of decking , timber frame construction and roofing .

As part of the ITC-SA ’ s ongoing mandate to establish and maintain the highest standards in the timber construction industry in South Africa , the Awards are hosted every year in an effort to bring players in the timber construction industry together and to pay homage to members ’ outstanding work of the previous year .

“ This year ’ s Awards saw the attendance of a record 135 guests , to whom we extend our thanks for making the event a vibrant and successful one ,” says Chris Hobson , incoming ITC-SA Chairman , adding , “ The Awards are open to all Timber Frame Builder , Deck Builder , Roof Erector and Fabricator Members of the ITC-SA , and submission categories include : Decks & Boardwalks ; Alterations & Additions ; Structures Smaller than 120m 2 ; Structures Larger than 120m 2 ; Structures Larger than 220m 2 ; and Roofing : Residential , Commercial & Exposed Trusses , a new addition to the Awards ’ categories .”
Lyndsay Cotton , LCP Roofing General Manager and outgoing Chairman of the ITC-SA kicked off the evening with a brief talk on the business case for diversity and inclusion in the sector , which was followed by an insightful product presentation on the MiTek Industries SA brand by Stewart Murray , MiTek Industries SA Managing Director . This was followed by a presentation by the evening ’ s guest speaker , Dr . Melanie Blumentritt , who is a post-doctoral fellow at Stellenbosch University at the Department of Forestry and Wood Science , with a background in solid wood and wood composites production and mechanical testing , wood anatomy , ultrastructure and chemical evaluation , and life-cycle assessment of wood products . Dr . Blumentritt ’ s talk proffered the question , ‘ Should we store carbon in wood ?’ and covered the ways in which the use of wood in long-lived products , like timber construction products , can help to mitigate climate change – a fitting prelude to the announcement of the ITC-SA Annual Timber Engineered Product Awards winners for 2015 .

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