Introduction

Rising temperatures and warmer seas are providing fuel for hurricanes, typhoons, severewildfires and other natural disasters. Reducing and managing disaster consequences hasalways been a challenge. Climate change and global warming have and will continuouslyaffect the way we live and build. According to the World Green Building Council, buildingscurrently account for 39% of carbon emissions globally. To slow the rate of climate changewe need to rethink the way we design, manufacture, and build. Tackling such complexproblems requires a multidisciplinary approach that spans beyond any one profession andstructural engineers have an important part to play. The use of timber and other bio-basedmaterials in building construction is now seen as a way to reduce the embodied carbonemissions and mitigate climate change.

Timber is a natural, renewable, and carbon-neutral material which has the lowestenvironmental impact during the life cycle of a building. In recent, a great number ofinnovative mid- to high-rise buildings made of timber (especially engineered mass timberhave been proposed and constructed, which present unique challenges and opportunitiesthat require significant research and development efforts in structural and timberengineering. This includes durability, Passive House standards for energy efficiency, lateraoad (wind and earthquake) resistance, acoustic performance, and recyclable potential.This workshop aims to collate current research into the complex relationship betweenclimate change, natural disasters, and building technology, exploring the challenges andopportunities for the next generation of timber and hybrid building construction.

This workshop aims to collate current research into the complex relationship betweenclimate change, natural disasters, and building technology, exploring the challenges andopportunities for the next generation of timber and hybrid building construction.