2020 Korea Wood Design Recognizes CWK’s Wood Infill Wall Demo Project with Top Excellence Award
The Suyu-dong wooden wall structure, a 5-storey concrete building in Seoul utilizes a wood-frame-infill system for its exterior and partition walls. A wood frame infill system is a unique hybrid that improves a building’s thermal performance while achieving a low carbon footprint. The results of a carbon assessment show that the wood products used in this building contain the equivalent of 44 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide, which equates to 29 fewer cars on the road for a year.
2019, Canada Wood Korea collaborated with SOSOL Architects, one of Korea’s wood champions, to demonstrate the effectiveness of wood infill systems and NLT (Nail-Laminated Timber) ceilings for industrialized construction by providing the materials and technical support for this showcase project.
Upon completion, project details were submitted for entry into the Korea Wood Design Awards and the building secured the Top Excellence Prize for 2020.
The building, located in Seoul, is used as ‘social housing.’ As Korea continues to see skyrocketing housing prices and limited land supply, affordable housing has been a key policy issue for Seoul’s mayors. One environmentally friendly solution to resolve this issue has been the construction of social housing. This increased demand for mid-rise buildings, which include apartments and condominiums for affordable housing, creates an opening for wood infill wall systems. Infill wall systems are an ideal solution because they can be built quickly, with higher energy performance and a lower carbon footprints. SOLSOLarchitects appreciate other benefits, such as the improved indoor air quality and versatility in renovation or remodelling.
SOSOL Architects’ Principal Architect Mr. Wang said, “This was the first wood infill wall project. At first, I was hesitant about combining the system with concrete, in terms of the cost and construction time in comparison to othermethods. Having recognized the positive outcome of this demonstration project, I will be happy to apply wood infill wall systems to our future projects.”