Why we build with cross-laminated timber (CLT)

What cross-laminated timber is

CLT panels are made of solid wood in layers, each layer laid at 90 degrees to the next, usually 3 to 7 layers. Crossing the layers makes stable panels that work as structure: walls, floors and roofs.

Compared with traditional concrete, building with CLT emits less CO₂ and produces less waste, and the build is lighter and faster.

Amura: a timber structure by the sea

In Amura, in Mataró, the building's structure is made of cross-laminated timber panels instead of traditional concrete.

• It avoids the emission of about 2,500 tonnes of CO₂: what 530 cars emit in a year.
• The CLT panels meet the most demanding fire safety standards.
• Inside, natural pine ceilings; outside, a curved facade with NewTechWood composite shutters in Red Cedar that control light and shade.

Scala: factory-made concrete and timber

In the Scala houses, in Palafolls, timber is combined with factory-made concrete walls.

• Precast concrete walls: made in a factory and lifted into place on site by crane.
• Cross-laminated timber (CLT) floors and roof, with natural wood ceilings about 3 m high.
• A facade clad in natural wood and a skylight over the staircase that brings in daylight from above.

What it means for the people who live there

The timber is part of a home that costs less to run every month: the building is designed to use little energy and little water.

• An A energy rating in every Amura apartment, with an estimated reduction in energy use of 50–70 %, in water use of 40 % and in maintenance costs of 7–8 %.
• Heating, cooling and hot water from Tub Verd, Mataró's central heating and cooling system: highly efficient, with very low running costs, and it frees up space inside the home.
• In Scala: A-rated energy efficiency, a Mitsubishi air-source heat pump, reinforced insulation and Cortizo windows with thermal break and double glazing.