Why Build with Mass Timber

Towards a Greener Future: The Benefits of Mass Timber in Construction

The global building and construction sector is responsible for almost 40% of energy and process-related carbon emissions, but transitioning away from cement and steel building materials towards timber has the potential to reduce this substantially.1

To do this, we must lower our carbon output and create carbon sinks to counteract the unavoidable emissions we produce and those that have already been emitted.
There is an enormous untapped potential for long-term carbon storage from buildings because most construction materials store little to no carbon and are emission-intensive to create.2


1,2 – Planet Ark

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber,
Director Emeritus of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

Trees offer us a technology of unparalleled perfection. They take carbon dioxide out of our atmosphere and smoothly transform it into oxygen for us to breathe and carbon in their trunks for us to use. There’s no safer way of storing carbon I can think of.

Societies have made good use of wood for buildings for many centuries, yet now the challenge of climate stabilisation calls for a very serious upscaling. If we engineer the wood into modern building materials and smartly manage harvest and construction, we humans can build ourselves a safe home on Earth.

Natural

Timber is natural, beautiful and warm.

Sustainable

Sustainably produced timber is a better environmental choice – it stores carbon.

Productive

Pre-fabrication has advantages in quality and saves time on site.

Efficient

Minimises waste of materials.

Latitude

More net usable area due to leaner wall structures.

Stability

Stable and lightweight.

Comfort

Wood contributes to a pleasant room climate and better air quality.

Wellness

Buildings of solid timber have positive effects on health.

Why build with Cusp? An ecosystem’s approach.

Existing timber industry supply chains are full of waste.

Cusp is challenging the existing supply chain in an effort to minimise waste and maximise value.

Early intervention with projects can remove wasted energy, wasted fibre, and wasted money.
A whole life cycle approach can maximise carbon storage in the building and minimise carbon expenditure through transport miles.

Through intelligent design, the resulting building can be more energy efficient during its tenure and recyclable at the end.