New industry guide reflects consensus on good practice to support adoption of large-scale timber offices in the UK.

We’ve contributed to the UK’s first Commercial Timber Guidebook, a major collaboration between property developers, insurers, and technical experts.

The guide, which aims to promote the use of structural timber in office construction, represents a key step toward broader adoption of sustainable timber construction practices within the commercial building sector.

We helped shape the guidebook, sharing our knowledge and learnings from our plans to deliver a timber frame market hall and workplace, as part of our ECF partnership’s St Helens town centre regeneration.

The initiative is spearheaded by Elliott Wood, Waugh Thistleton Architects and OFR Consultants, working with specialist insurance consultants Lignum Risk Partners to engage the wider sector. The project, kickstarted with a €200,000 grant from the Built by Nature network and fund, also attracted co-funding and support from major developers all seeking to overcome existing barriers to mass timber adoption.

The Guidebook aims to drive the adoption of timber by demonstrating both its technical viability and its insurability. The project team worked directly with architects, developers, and engineers to create a consensus of good practice on how to incorporate structural timber into new office buildings.

Download the guide