Design Solution · Structural Systems
Design Solution · Dream about it
Laminated timber atrium roof structure chosen over steel to lower embodied carbon.
An atrium and wintergarden roof carrying skylights and extensive planting is framed in laminated timber (GL24h) as the primary option, benchmarked against an equivalent steel frame. Choosing engineered timber over steel lowers cradle-to-grave embodied carbon while still supporting the glazed cover and planting loads.
Choosing laminated timber over a steel frame for an atrium and wintergarden roof is a deliberate whole-life carbon decision: engineered timber stores biogenic carbon and has a substantially lower cradle-to-gate embodied-carbon footprint than structural steel, particularly where responsibly sourced certified timber is specified. The approach is increasingly common on large cultural and commercial projects where structural expressiveness and carbon targets coincide, and GL24h glulam is a mature, well-specified product with established structural and fire-engineering design routes. This record is at claimed status with no provided evidence against the specific project, so the carbon saving relative to the steel benchmark is a design assertion rather than a confirmed lifecycle result. The practical value is that the material choice is relatively low-risk in procurement terms — glulam fabricators and connection engineers are well-resourced in most markets — and the aesthetic case for exposed timber in an atrium setting often aligns with client aspirations. The genuine trade-offs to weigh are: fire engineering for an exposed-timber atrium roof in a public building requires careful calculation and may require either charring allowance in member sizing or suppression systems that add cost; moisture exposure from wintergarden conditions demands careful detailing of connections and end-grain; and the claimed embodied-carbon saving should be verified against a specific steel design rather than a generic comparison, since optimised steel alternatives can close the gap more than early-stage estimates suggest.
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