18 Sep 2018
Three-storey maze inside V&A's Sackler Courtyard spreads sustainability message
BY Andrew Manns
MultiPly, a 9m (29.5ft) pavilion created by architectural design studio Waugh Thistleton, has gone on display inside the Victoria and Albert Museum's Sackler Courtyard.
Created for the London Design Festival, the modular structure can be easily disassembled and rebuilt, and was designed in collaboration with Arup and the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC).
Composed of American Tulipwood cross-laminated timber (CLT) cubes, MultiPly was created to provide an interactive space inside which people could visually experience a more sustainable and environmentally solution to the housing crisis.
"We are at a crisis point in terms of both housing and CO2 emissions," said Andrew Waugh, co-founder of Waugh Thistleton Architects. "We believe that building with a versatile, sustainable material such as tulipwood, is an important way of addressing these issues."
CLT, which in recent years has been used to build large-scale structures, is considered by some to be an ideal ecological alternative to concrete and steel.Tulipwood is one of the most abundant hardwoods on the eastern side of the US. According to the Hardwood Forest Foundation, total forest growth of this type has exceeded the amount harvested each year since the 1940's, with hardwood forests currently growing at a rate of one football pitch per minute.
The exhibition will be on display until 1 October.
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