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Factory-made housing multi-plys

MultiPly, a carbon-neutral, modular wooden pavilion made entirely of American tulipwood was a star at the London Design Festival, and will have a new incarnation and a temporary home in South Crescent on London’s Store Street as part of a collaboration with New London Architecture. Source: Timberbiz

Six of the 17 modules of the original structure have been moved from their first home at the V&A and be rebuilt in front of The Building Centre for NLA’s exhibition ‘Factory-made Housing: a solution for London?’

“MultiPly is a bold and exciting demonstration of how innovative modular systems can be combined with sustainable materials, such as American tulipwood, to provide a much needed solution to housing delivery in London,” Lucie Murray, senior program curator at NLA said.

“This is the perfect tie-in to the current New London Architecture exhibition, Factory-made Housing: a solution for London? And we are delighted to bring the installation from the V&A to the crescent outside of The Building Centre for our audience to explore in the coming weeks.”

A set of benches and tables, made with thermally-modified American tulipwood have been placed around the pavilion.

This timber has been modified by controlled heating, e!ectively crystallising the wood’s cambium and providing enhanced stability and durability. The process changes the appearance of the tulipwood, giving it deeper brown tones throughout and making it suitable for external applications.

The NLA exhibition runs until 18 January 2019.