Design Flexibility

Cross-laminated timber allows designers to have a plate element that can resist forces in all directions, thus allowing curved, inclined, or folded geometrics without compromising the structural integrity of the structure.

Also, with CLT it is easy to work on internal and external components. The exterior of CLT buildings can accommodate different applications such as bricks, stones, stucco, masonry and other finishing that could be chosen to be set on top of the external CLT walls. 

If a façade is executed using a timber surface, there are several techniques that can be used to create durable and low-maintenance surfaces: either modern techniques, such as premature greying, or very traditional techniques, such as purposeful carbonization to protect the surface against weathering effects.

However, no system is as flexible as a timber-element façade when it comes down to design the façade in combination with many other materials: plaster base, HPL and fiber cement plates, aluminum, cement or ceramics. 

The most recent developments focus on phase change materials (PCM), photovoltaic, LED-technology and solar-thermal structural elements. Façades could eventually become self-sufficient power plants.