Expert Timber Structure Design Services

Why Timber is the Material of Choice for Sustainable Futures

The resurgence of structural timber is driven by its unique combination of inherent material benefits and technological advancements that address its historical limitations.

Unparalleled Environmental Benefits (The Carbon Advantage)

Timber is the only major structural material that actively sequesters carbon. While concrete and steel production are carbon-intensive, wood structures act as long-term carbon sinks.

• Low Embodied Energy: The energy required to process and manufacture engineered timber is significantly lower than that for metals or cement.
• Renewability: Sourced from certified, sustainably managed forests, wood is a rapidly renewable resource, making it an essential component of a circular economy.

Exceptional Strength and Lightweight Efficiency

Modern engineered timber, like Glulam, boasts a strength-to-weight ratio that rivals structural steel. This lightness has cascading benefits throughout the entire project lifecycle.

• Reduced Transportation Costs: Lighter components are cheaper to transport.
• Simpler Erection: Faster installation times and often reduced dependency on heavy lifting equipment.
• Impact on Foundations: The reduced dead load of the superstructure directly influences the complexity and cost of the Foundation Design. A lighter building often permits less extensive or shallower foundations, leading to substantial savings.

Aesthetic Warmth and Biophilic Design

Exposed timber creates interiors that are visually appealing and inherently comforting, contributing to Biophilic Design—the connection between occupants and nature. Research consistently shows that environments incorporating exposed wood can improve occupant well-being, productivity, and health.

Acoustic Performance and Thermal Efficiency

Wood naturally possesses excellent thermal insulation properties, simplifying compliance with energy-efficiency standards. Its density and cellular structure also contribute to superior acoustic absorption, creating quieter and more comfortable internal spaces.

The Shah.fi Timber Design Process: From Trees to Tall Buildings

Our methodology for Timber Structure Design moves beyond simple beam sizing, encompassing moisture management, material specification, and advanced analysis to ensure longevity and safety.

Phase 1: Material Specification and Selection

1. Engineered Wood vs. Sawn Lumber

Most large-scale timber construction relies on engineered wood products for predictable, uniform strength and size stability:

• Glued-Laminated Timber (Glulam): Used for long-span beams, arches, and columns. Made by bonding layers of dimensional lumber together with durable, moisture-resistant adhesives.
• Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT): Used for walls, floors, and roof panels. Created by stacking and gluing layers of lumber in alternating directions, providing two-way structural action and exceptional dimensional stability.
• Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL): Used for highly stressed components like headers and rafters.

2. Load Determination and Dynamic Analysis

Just like in any structural project, all loads must be calculated. However, timber’s relatively light weight can make structures more susceptible to vibration and deflection. We utilize dynamic analysis to ensure floors and long spans provide a comfortable level of serviceability.

Phase 2: Connection Engineering – The Critical Detail

Connections are the single most important and specialized aspect of Timber Structure Design. Unlike homogenous Concerete Structure Design, timber structures rely on discrete mechanical joints to transfer forces between elements.

3. Designing for Force Transfer

Connections must efficiently transfer forces (shear, moment, tension, compression) while accommodating timber’s unique behavior (e.g., perpendicular-to-grain stresses). We specialize in:

• Hidden Connections: Preferred for aesthetic purposes, using internal steel plates and dowels that are concealed within the wood member.
• Proprietary Connectors: Utilizing high-capacity, prefabricated steel connectors that simplify installation and provide verified performance data.

4. Serviceability and Durability of Joints

Timber connections must be designed to remain tight and resilient over the building’s lifespan, resisting creep (deformation under long-term load) and preventing moisture ingress that could lead to corrosion of the metal components or decay of the timber.

Phase 3: Fire Safety and Structural Resilience

A common misconception is that timber is highly vulnerable to fire. Modern Timber Structure Design principles turn this assumption on its head.

5. Charring Rate Analysis

Mass timber (Glulam, CLT) is designed to resist fire through charring. As the outer layer burns, it forms a protective layer of char that insulates the core, maintaining the structural capacity for a defined period (e.g., 60, 90, or 120 minutes). Our designs specify excess timber section size to account for the predictable char layer loss.

6. Connection Protection

Connections—the weakest link in a fire scenario—must be protected. This often involves wrapping them in gypsum board or ensuring they are fully hidden within the protective char layer of the surrounding wood members.

Addressing Moisture and Durability in Timber Structures

Durability is paramount. Shah.fi employs a “Design for Durability” strategy focused on preventing moisture accumulation, which is the primary cause of timber decay.

The Three Ds: Details that Ensure Longevity

We apply the ‘Three Ds’ principle to all external timber design:

• Deflection: Designing roof and floor slopes to shed water quickly.
• Drainage: Ensuring rapid and efficient drainage paths, preventing pooling.
• Drying: Designing assemblies that allow the timber to dry out if it gets wet (vapor permeability).

Vapor Control and Enclosure Design

In modern, sealed buildings, managing vapor transfer is critical. We integrate sophisticated vapor barriers and air barriers into the wall and roof assemblies to prevent condensation within the timber structure, which can lead to moisture damage over time.

The Interface with Foundation Design

The base of the timber structure, where it meets the ground or Foundation Design, is highly vulnerable to wicking moisture. Our detailing ensures a capillary break (a physical separation or barrier, often a metal flashing or high-density foam) is included to prevent moisture transfer from the concrete foundation into the structural wood frame.

Integrating Timber with Metal and Concrete: Hybrid Structures

In complex projects, the most efficient solution is often a hybrid approach, leveraging the best features of different materials.

Timber vs. Steel: A Targeted Approach

While timber offers carbon benefits, Steel Structure Design is often superior for extremely high point loads or very slender columns and beams. For instance, a hybrid building might use steel in the lower levels or transfer beams and timber for the upper floors where the reduced weight is most advantageous.

Vertical Integration in Tall Buildings

For tall timber buildings (e.g., 10+ stories), a concrete or steel core is often used for stability and shear resistance, while CLT panels and Glulam beams form the superstructure. This combination leverages the stability and fire resistance of the core with the lightweight, sustainable benefits of mass timber. This careful material selection requires specialized knowledge of both Concerete Structure Design and timber dynamics.

Applications in Large-Span Structures

While Glulam trusses can achieve impressive spans, extremely wide, highly customized industrial buildings often default to steel. For applications like Stell Hall Design (e.g., large factories or hangars), the combination of heavy dynamic loading, extreme spans, and high fire resistance requirements often favors a steel solution, though timber is increasingly viable for sports halls and medium-span warehouses.

Advanced Applications and Future Trends

The frontier of Timber Structure Design is rapidly expanding, driving new architectural and engineering possibilities.

Modular Timber Construction

The precision fabrication of engineered wood allows for highly efficient modular construction. Entire wall and floor panels (CLT) are manufactured off-site, complete with window openings and service cutouts, leading to minimal site waste and extraordinarily rapid assembly times.

Seismic Performance

Timber structures, especially those built with CLT panels, have shown exceptional performance in seismic zones. Their lightweight nature reduces inertial forces, and the panelized construction allows for predictable energy dissipation through specialized hold-down connections, making them highly resilient to earthquakes.

Acoustic Detailing for High-Rise Timber

In multi-family residential or commercial timber buildings, managing sound transmission through the light floor and wall assemblies requires specialized detailing. We design floating floors, acoustic mats, and resilient channels to ensure acoustic separation meets or exceeds code requirements.