SA's theWoodApp website is building a wood culture
SA's theWoodApp website is building a wood culture
In four years, South Africa’s theWoodApp website has inspired and supported 8,500 architects, developers, designers, industry retirees, contractors and DIYers to use wood more extensively in the built environment.
D r Philip Crafford, academic researcher and theWoodApp project manager at Stellenbosch University, says the website’s popularity is growing by about 500 new monthly subscribers. He attributes it to the “relevant, accessible, and practical information it provides on the properties and applications of wood”.
The digital coaching platform was launched in 2020 by the Department of Forest and Wood Science at Stellenbosch University, with financial support from Sawmilling South Africa (SSA), the South African Wood Preservers Association (SAWPA), and the Fibre Processing & Manufacturing Sector Education Training and Development Authority (FP&MSeta).
Local wood specialists initiated the idea and are developing free online courses and resources to facilitate growing and supporting a wood building culture in South Africa by making relevant educational resources available.
Marko Pretorius, a timber architect, demonstrates the shou-sugi-ban timber treatment method to workshop attendees.
Wood is Essential
“The construction and operation of buildings produce more than one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions”, explains Crafford. “Traditional building materials like cement and steel have significant carbon footprints.”
On the other hand, the increased use of wood sourced from sustainable forests has immense potential as a tool to combat climate change.
“Trees remove carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) from the atmosphere and fix the carbon as wood in their stems while releasing oxygen (O 2 ) back into the atmosphere”, Crafford elaborates. “This means that wood building products from sustainable forests store carbon for their lifetime and often have a net-negative carbon footprint.”
The WoodApp
The WoodApp is available to anyone with internet access and inspires and supports local developers, designers, contractors and DIYers to use wood more extensively. It offers relevant, accessible, and practical information on the use of timber in construction in South Africa by guiding designers in local standards, materials and best practices.
Ten online courses are available, each requiring about 2.5 hours to complete. They include quizzes to measure progress and understanding and offer accreditation by the SA Institute for Architects.
- Timber frame building in South Africa
- Stress-graded timber
- Timber deck building
- Specifying timber products for exterior applications
- Timber in fire
- Wooden flooring
- Wooden poles
- Sound control in timber buildings
- Structural engineering of cross-laminated timber (CLT) in South Africa
- CLT design and construction.
Two new courses will be available soon:
- Integrating sustainability into design and
- Aspects of roof truss design.
Brand Wessels, Philip Crafford, Pieter Silberbauer, Werner Slabbert and Marko Pretorius with participants of the third workshop in 2023.
Workshops
“In-person workshops add a practical aspect to theWoodApp”, explains Crafford.
Pieter Silberbauer, Werner Slabbert and Marko Pretorius presented three continuous professional development (CPD) points Timber Frame and Design workshops in Stellenbosch and Pretoria in 2023. The workshops were popular, with demand exceeding the allocated 150 participants.
Crafford says they are planning four one-day courses in Stellenbosch this year.
- How to design and construct a deck: 4 April
- Uses and specifications of wooden poles: 4 April
- CLT design, construction and engineering: 5 June
- Understanding structural graded timber and design for fire: 28 August
- Timber frame building design and construction: 30 October.
Although the workshops are intended for architects and engineers, Crafford says they are ideal for building inspectors, contractors, homeowners, students and entrepreneurs. “We are excited to grow more and more master timber builders and designers – all using this super versatile and renewable resource called wood”.
Contact details:
info@theWoodApp.com and www.theWoodApp.com.
Master carpenter Alex Heath demonstrates timber frame building
during the one-day course at Stellenbosch University.
