PR 35904 
2 July 2014

Students choose Sterling OSB for home-grown hub

  
 Pictured is a novel "timber sanctuary" built by design students from Goldsmiths College, University of London which was made from Norbord's Sterling OSB as part of the London Design Festival.

Design students from Goldsmiths College, University of London, designed and built a novel "timber sanctuary" from Norbord's Sterling OSB as part of the London Design Festival.

The Tree Hub was erected in a quiet corner just off Peckham Rye, SE15, and is a is a pentagonal timber tree-house - minus the tree and standing on its own Douglas fir legs.

The main structure is made from Norbord's Sterling OSB3 moisture-resistant board with a lightweight canopy to protect users from the elements.

Now relocated to the foyer of Goldsmith's College in New Cross, the Tree Hub provided the venue for a series of talks and discussions during the Design Festival.

Seeking advice on materials, the student design team contacted Ed Suttie, director of timber at BRE.

Dr Suttie is also a member of the executive committee of Grown In Britain, a government-backed industry led umbrella group which aims to promote home-grown forest products, encourage private investment in forest management and promote the forest environment to the wider public.

As a consequence of this meeting of minds, the Goldsmiths team built the Tree Hub out of domestic Douglas Fir and SterlingOSB.

All Norbord OSB products are made from home-grown wood fibre in the form of thinnings from British forests. This not only benefits the domestic forestry industry, but also drastically reduces the product's carbon footprint since transport requirements are minimal.

SterlingOSB's sustainable credentials are therefore second to none - one reason why it is fast becoming a preferred alternative to imported plywood in many applications.

"The Tree Hub was a perfect vehicle for getting the message out about Grown in Britain and Britain's amazing forests products" says Ed Suttie. "Since our launch last year, we have got a lot of traction in the design community and have won the backing of several major building contractors."

For further information, call 01786 812 921 or visit websitewww.norbord.co.uk

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With compliments:
Alison Relf
Taylor Alden Ltd
Unit 2 Temple Place
247 The Broadway
London  SW19 1SD
Tel:  020 8543 3866
Email:alison@tayloralden.co.uk

EDITORS' NOTES

Grown in Britain is an organisation that brings together a broad diversity of forest, woodland, societal, manufacturing and end-user interests -www.growninbritain.org.