Green Building Issues Using Wood and Timber in Buildings in the Arabian Gulf Countries

Abstract

Wood and timber are significant building materials used in construction projects for centuries; since the earliest buildings, they have been featured prominently as a construction tool, structural material, and aesthetic finish. But what part is the material playing in today’s sector, what benefits is this bringing to the contractors and end users, and what issues should they be aware of? The use of wooden products remains mostly for aesthetics and to fit the general theme selected by architects or designers.

With forests not so greatly featured in the natural landscape of the Gulf, most of the wood used for the construction industry must be imported, which raises issues of availability, cost, and transportation. However, the region’s location does ease the potential challenge of availability. The sources of wood vary according to the type with supplies being offered from countries worldwide. Plywood is typically sourced from Indonesia, China, and Brazil; softwood timber from Chile, Austria, New Zealand, and Romania; and, moreover, hardwoods from Africa, North America, and Indonesia only to name but a few.

Over the past two decades, a renaissance in wooden architecture has occurred with the development of new wooden building systems and design strategies, elevating wood from a predominantly single-family residential idiom to a rival of concrete and steel construction for a variety of building types, including high rises (Mayo, Solid wood: Case studies in mass timber architecture, technology and design, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, 2015). Wood and timber in architecture offer unparalleled environmental as well as construction and aesthetic benefits and are of growing importance for professionals and academics involved in green design.

This article will endeavor to bring back the uses of wood and timber in buildings in the The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) as a natural material that can be used to achieve green building and are to cool the interior spaces by reflecting the direct sun when having lattice windows or ceiling. There is a good example in using these natural materials in ceilings and wooden screens to shade and make a comfort zone of traditional houses, as well as nowadays that have been reflected in contemporary architecture in order to increase energy efficiency. Modern architecture is inspired by heritage elements in which wood and timber surge the intimate scale of the street and interior as esthetical elements.