Dennis Hauer

Bio

Dennis Hauer is a Dutch Architect-director and BREEAM Expert working on projects with a high ambition on biobased- and circular solutions. Creating a Parisproof- and healthy living environment are guiding principles.

Urban Climate Architects is a progressive and innovative architectural firm with offices in Delft, Wroclaw and Groningen where approximately 25 professionals work on a wide range of projects on different scale levels. The focus is on densification and adding quality to the existing city by making high quality architecture.

In addition to designing and realizing buildings, the agency is also committed to developing and spreading knowledge in the field of circular construction as a partner of the Dutch Green Building Council.

Title of the talk - Scaling up with Mass Timber in the Netherlands

Synopsis

Urban Climate Architects is one of the frontrunners on designing and building in Mass Timber in the Netherlands. With a history of building in wood solutions like wood frame for almost 15 years, the actual first mass timber project of the office was realised in 2021 in Delft. The goal is to make mass timber accessible and feasible for all types of projects, with the recent delivered project for the Salvation Army in Rotterdam as an example that it is possible to build in wood for a small budget.

With the realisation of The Urban Woods in Delft this year, a 10 story high housing building completely made from wood, Urban Climate Architects pushes the boundaries forward on what is possible to build in wood.

Recognising the need for better technical knowledge and the upskilling of construction industry talent to support the adoption of multistorey mass timber housing in the Netherlands, the Built by Nature Fund has recently awarded a grant to Urban Climate Architects and MAATworks Architects towards creation of an open-access knowledge and guidance resource from data and technical details compiled from existing buildings.

The research project, “Setting the standard on detailing multistorey timber housing”, will see the two mass timber architecture practices conduct an in-depth study of ten multi-storey mass timber residences based on their performance data, design details, and relevant design approaches.

Built by Nature is a network and grant-making fund dedicated to accelerating the timber building transformation in Europe.