Are you an enthusiastic fan of wooden constructions, or do you simply love wood as a natural material?

A tree with its own story will grow from NOVATOP wooden panels.
In every panel, there is a real tree
Are you an enthusiastic fan of wooden buildings, or do you just like wood as a natural material? In either case, we recommend visiting this year's Wooden Buildings Fair 2012, which will open its doors at the Prague-Holešovice Exhibition Center on February 23. While last year's visitors could see a wooden building built live from NOVATOP panels 1:1, this year it will be a different unique project. A three-story exhibition made of laminated solid wood panels will take the form of an eight-meter-high tree.
"We do not want to compete for the tallest structure at the fair," says Ing. Jiří Oslizlo from the company that manufactures NOVATOP panels. "With this unique exhibition, we want to emphasize that in every panel of our building system, there is a real tree with its own story, which naturally intertwines with the story of the people who dreamed of, built, and live in a wooden house. At the same time, we want to demonstrate how every wooden house contributes to environmental protection. We embedded the philosophy of the exhibition in the slogan IN EVERY PANEL, THERE IS A REAL TREE — A TREE FOR YOUR HOUSE.”



Building the unconventional pavilion will be demanding
"The time for preparing the exhibition is limited and cannot be estimated in advance; it is not a classic house, but I see it as a challenge," explains Martin Novák from Dřevostavby MC, a Certified NOVATOP partner, who, like last year, is building the NOVATOP exhibition. "To position the large parts, we will need a crane; meanwhile, handling must be very precise and sensitive, as all surfaces are of visible quality, and any damage would be noticeable."

The tree in Prague will begin its journey to Europe
The structural, insulating, and aesthetic parameters of wooden construction today surpass many other traditional building technologies in many respects. And unlike traditional building materials, wood is the only fully renewable raw material that continuously binds carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas responsible for global climate change, during its growth, processing, and even after being incorporated into a building. The symbolism of a closed cycle is fully realized in the NOVATOP exhibition. After the Prague fair concludes, it will be dismantled and transported to Zurich, where it will become part of the Umweltarena, the world's largest presentation of ecological building technologies, which will open to visitors in August 2012 on an area of 6,000 m2. “Of course, we are proud that our system will be presented to the global public in such a unique project,” notes Jiří Oslizlo and adds: “I believe that our tree story will resonate with both professionals and the general public at the upcoming Wooden Buildings Fair in Prague. I would like to warmly invite everyone to take a walk through our tree. Perhaps you will find the beginning of your new life story within it."

How did the story of this exhibition begin?
The author will reveal it -  Ing. Irena Truhlářová from ARCHCON atelier, s.r.o.

How did the idea of the tree-exhibition come about?
“From the first thoughts, we worked with the story of a tree that grew in the forest, then traveled to energy-efficient processing, and finally into the walls of a beautiful and healthy dwelling. The pavilion in the shape of a tree was a natural outcome of these ideas. We perceive the tree as a symbol of rebirth, or if you will, sustainable development. Thus, we presented the structural and aesthetic possibilities of the material on this strong theme.”

What draws you to this material?
“Cross-laminated timber panels fascinate us with their potential for bold architectural and structural solutions. Wood is a material that allows architects to express themselves freely and realize their visions as well as those of investors. Designing is a joyful endeavor, it's more of a game than design. The undeniable value of wood is its beauty, which is why we are very happy to design it as visible structures. Even though the demands for project coordination and construction are increasing, the outcome is unique.”

Will the pavilion's structure be reinforced with any non-wood elements?
“At the observation point, which is the most statically exposed part of the building, we reinforced the wooden panel with a steel beam. This shows, among other things, the possibilities of combining wood with steel. The connectors are also steel, while other parts of the structure are exclusively wood.”

What were the limiting factors in your design?
“The dimensions of the exhibition, particularly the height of the hall, and the fact that the pavilion must be disassembled and rebuilt. This naturally influenced some of the structural solutions. We also had to consider that the exhibition could be completely filled with visitors, so the structure had to be designed to be sufficiently robust. Unlike conventional construction, the exhibition consists solely of visible structures, so we had to consider the joints of individual elements with regard to high aesthetic requirements.”

More information about the NOVATOP technology can be found at www.novatop-system.cz
The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.
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