NMITE is home to CATT with a strategic mission set by industry to: “stimulate collaboration across the industry together with showing a wider audience how rewarding a career in timber can be.” The first intake of CATT students was in September 2022 on the Timber Technology Engineering and Design short CPD courses. These courses are blended courses composed of online distance learning and on-campus challenge sprints. When the learners are at NMITE they are hosted in the purpose built 2,500sqm ‘living lab’ building which consists of studio and breakout spaces, as well as two 700sqm workshop areas.

As the appointed timber frame supplier Taylor Lane was tasked with providing timber frame insulated wall panels and used a selection of non-standard materials specified by NMITE to construct 20 panels. These range from 250 to 2400mm wide, and 4100mm high.

The insulated panels were installed over two phases – a 53Lm run and another spanning 33Lm. This was particularly challenging as Paul Harris, contracts director for Taylor Lane Timber Frame explains. “The glulam structure including the roof element, and cross laminated timber (CLT) frame were already in position which meant that we had to crane the panels in and around an already constructed structural frame. This was tricky and took careful consideration in devising a suitable method of work and appropriate access equipment.”

Source: Timber Media