ZETE – Zak Engineered Timber Envelopes

Zak Engineered Timber Envelopes is an offshoot from the stable of the Zak World of Façades conference series.


The 2nd edition of this one-day conference will discuss and debate the latest innovations and challenges in the mass timber industry pertaining to the building envelope and will also host an exclusive exhibit area featuring leading solution providers.

Speakers and Panelists
Project Manager, SJB Kempter Fitze
Stefan Rick has a Master’s degree in civil engineering from Germany, with a practical background as a Master craftsman in carpentry. Since he started working as a structural engineer for SJB Kempter Fitze AG in 2013, he got more and...
Managing Director, Hybrid Structures
Greg Cooper, is the Managing Director at Hybrid Structures a company that specialises in the construction of solid timber only and Hybrid Structures for the Commercial, Residential and Educational sectors. Hybrid Structures is a subsidiary company of the William Hare...
Development Manager, Related Argent
Sam is an experienced member of the Development Team for Related Argent and over the last 8 years has been focussing on large commercial office buildings for two major regeneration schemes at King’s Cross and more recently Brent Cross Town....
Vice President, Marsh Limited
Kate is a member of the Construction team at Marsh Limited, a world leading insurance broker and risk advisor. Kate joined Marsh Limited in 2015, and has worked in both the client servicing and placement teams, with experience in both...
Associate Director – Europe, Bennetts Associates
Edward is developing Bennetts Associates’ European profile and timber buildings portfolio. His studies in both architecture and structural engineering, have allowed him to acquire design skills which embrace multi-disciplinary working. Edward was involved with the regeneration of King’s Cross in...
Practice Leader, Cullinan Studio
Carol Costello is an architect and Practice Leader at Cullinan Studio, who has led the design on some of the practices most notable buildings- many with timber engineering as a key feature . She is currently developing strategies for circular economy...
Associate, Heyne Tillett Steel
Gustaf is a specialist in engineered timber having worked with the material for over half a decade on designs for buildings across numerous sectors including education, commercial schools, offices, and private residential buildings. He champions the material’s widespread use within...
Global Sustainability Lead, Eckersley O’Callaghan
Stéphany joined the London office of Eckersley O’Callaghan in 2014 to work in the Facade Group, before moving to the Paris office in 2017. At Eckersley O’Callaghan, she has been involved in the design of facades for prestigious projects, while...
Co-Founding Director, dRMM
Alex de Rijke is a Co-Founding Director of dRMM, having established the practice in 1995 with Philip Marsh and Sadie Morgan. He is responsible for leading the design, construction, and delivery of the studio’s timber projects, including Kingsdale School, Tower...
Director, Pacegrade
A Civil Engineering BEng graduate from Loughborough, Nick began working in the family joinery business as a stop gap in the early 90s – and never left! Historically, Pacegrade has specialised in timber doors, windows and staircases for the residential...
Senior Engineer, Eckersley O’Callaghan
Ben Buckley is a Senior Facade Engineer in the facade engineering group at Eckersley O’Callaghan in London, UK. He is experienced in leading the design of various facade system types for residential, commercial and educational projects based in the UK...
Lead Architect, The Office Group
Sophie has spent the last decade working on architectural projects across the globe, with time spent in London, New York and Seville. At renowned architectural practice SODA, she worked on several iconic projects and Grade-2 listed buildings, including Soho House...
Associate Director, Waugh Thistleton Architects
Dave Lomax is an Associate Director at Waugh Thistleton Architects Architects, the world’s leading architects in the field of mass timber who were shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize in 2018 and awarded the RIBA President’s Medal for Practice Located...
Partner, Renzo Piano Building Workshop
Graduated from the Barcelona School of Architecture in 2006, Albert Giralt has collaborated with leading architectural practices in Barcelona, London and Paris. He joined the Renzo Piano Building Workshop in 2009. Since then, he has worked on many significant international...
Head of Project Sales, RAICO Bautechnik
Philipp Nuscheler joined RAICO in 2011 as student in civil engineering façade technology. Having graduated with the degree Bachelor of Engineering, he started his career as Product Manager at RAICO in 2014. He worked on the product marketing strategy and...
Head of Sales, Accsys
A relative latecomer to the construction industry, Justin’s first career was in agriculture, initially as a farm manager and then as an agronomist. However, in 2000 he switched to the timber industry and in 2007 joined Accsys Technologies, who at...
Partner, Gardiner & Theobald
Oliver has been involved in a variety of exciting projects over the last decade at G&T. In recent years he has been involved in a number of large residential, PRS and commercial schemes, as well as associated mixed-use developments as...
Structural Director, Arup
Tim Snelson is a Structural Director at Arup. He is recognised across the industry as a champion of low-carbon design, through timber and retrofit projects. He has designed several pioneering timber structures for housing, commercial and media buildings. He also...
Business Development Manager, A. Proctor Group
Adam Salt has been working for The A. Proctor Group since 2019 and has specialised in facades in high-rise, offsite and modular construction. Adam has years of experience in the high-rise sector, focusing on façade design, regulation compliance and innovation....
Director, Ramboll
Alan leads Ramboll’s Timber design innovations and has over 15 years’ experience as a structural engineer, working in a wide range of sectors across the UK and Europe. He has worked on over 100 timber buildings and leads Ramboll’s International...
Associate Director – Real Estate, AJ Gallagher
Dominic is an Associate Director and Head of Development within the Real Estate division of Gallagher, a global insurance broker. He represents the insurance sector on a number of cross-industry bodies focussed on breaking down the barriers to the adoption...
Associate Director, Whitby Wood
Kelly is an active proponent of sustainable construction, and is particularly experienced in the engineering design of timber and hybrid structures, refurbishment projects and retro-fitting. She has an extensive portfolio of major schemes for the residential, commercial, education, heritage and...
Director, Zaha Hadid Architects
Design Director, Thornton Tomasetti
Claudia Farabegoli has more than 20 years of international façade design and consulting experience. Her design credits encompass a wide range of project types, including transportation and aviation, residential and commercial, retail, mixed-use, and sports and cultural facilities. She has...
Conference Agenda
  • Insurance market overview
  • Mass timber 12 months on; where are we?
  • Insurance: How do I navigate a challenging market?
  • The challenges and opportunities when building with mass timber, as well as outcomes from our mass timber series
  • A first look at the latest mass timber initiatives being launched this year
  • Key considerations you need to know when building with mass timber
  • Exploring the benefits of timber for cladding & structural purposes
  • Using timber to reduce the embodied carbon of projects
  • Considerations on the responsibilities of using timber such as responsible sourcing, etc
  • Overview, development, performance and sustainable roots
  • Performance, testing and validation
  • Project precedents, large commercial and mass timber buildings
  • Future challenges in construction industry
  • Why unitized?
  • The journey from stick curtain wall to a genuine timber unitized curtain wall

This diverse panel will present their different perspectives and experiences across the project covering the Client, Contractor, Timber Engineer and Architect roles including

  • Design of the building in terms of the relative movement of the mass timber structure and the glulam curtain walling tolerance
  • Design and specification of the tulipwood solar control louvres including novel use of the species in the UK and bespoke fire testing

Kelly Harrison

Dave Lomax

  • Engineered timber in a light industrial building
  • New urban workspace typology
  • Constructing health
  • Digital processes from design to assembly
  • Traditional connections transformed by means of technology and precision
  • Mockups: A reliable tool to show the possible to the problemfinders
  • Heat, air & moisture management
  • System protection
  • Junctions & detailing
  • Overview of French Standards and certifications related to timber and differences between the market for and attitude to timber façade construction in France/EU compared to the UK
  • The rise of prefabricated timber walls and the incentives to build with bio-based and geo-sourced materials
  • The UNESCO case study: Timber walls as a support for re-used cladding
  • The current industry challenges and how they can be overcome
  • Structural solutions in practice with award winning project case studies
  • Timber research and future innovations
  • Overview on designing innovative timber systems by collaborating creatively with engineers on projects which required a unique solution to advance our research with case studies
  • NAIC (National Automotive Innovation Centre): Designed with Arup for the University of Warwick incorporating timber mega panels for the façades and expansive CLT/Glulam roof to create an iconic character for this research centre at the heart of the campus
  • Challenges and opportunities for the use of timber to meet Net Zero and circular economy principles: Marlborough Sports Garden project innovation of reclaimed timber and steel structural elements
  • This panel will discuss how the industry landscape is changing and the challenges this can present to the timber sector
  • The role and opportunities for timber will also be explored and the benefits it can have for a low carbon future and how these can be implemented

Alan Dowdall

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