The Smile
Anthony Thistleton visits The Smile and explains to the BBC World Service why we work with cross laminated timber.
The Smile, created for the London Design Festival through collaboration between Arups, the American Hardwood Export Council and Alison Brooks Architects, has drawn attention to the structural capabilities of CLT. The installation is made of 12 of the largest CLT hardwood panels ever manufactured and while the structure is playful it demonstrates the robustness of CLT. Built in just 5 days it can bear the load of up to 60 people at one end. Turned on its end is like the stabilising core of a five storey building which makes it the most slender timber core ever built.
The Smile can be visited at Chelsea College of Art until 12 October
Image credit: American Hardwood Export Council Dav Stewart.
Smile: designed by ABA, engineering by Arup.