Timber frame engineering for medium-rise structures

In the last five years a growing number of timber framed structures have been built in the UK on a commercial basis, at heights of tour storeys plus basements, or with five full storeys in timber However, there are at present no comprehensive design rules for such buildings, a correcting this deficiency has been the motive for industrially led Research & Technology Developments (RTD) which have been initiated & which are described in this paper. Throughout Europe, reduced costs, rapid construction times & high build quality are all reasons for the growing interest in timber frame for medium-rise construction. Significant developments which have been faking place recently have led to a project which involves the full-scale testing of a six-storey prototype, along with many desk-based, component-based & site-driven ancillary exercises. This paper summarises interim progress on the engineering aspects of this project, with principal focus upon the subject of Structural Robustness.