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Part of a critically important chain

“Each time we choose to build in wood, we are part of a critically important chain of responsibility that will see the elegance of the living tree through to a new life in a building.” That’s the way Jim Taggart, Dipl. Arch., M.A.,FRAIC, sees it and he will be a keynote speaker at NZIF 2012 Conference “Engineering Value Growing & Harvesting Forests for Novel Wood Structures” to be held in Christchurch from 1-4 July.
Taggart received his Master of Arts in Architecture from The University of Sheffield, England in 1980. For 12 years he was a practicing architect in Canada and UK involved in both design and construction.
Since 1992, his focus has been in public and professional education and communications in the areas of architecture, urban design and sustainable development. His most notable area of specialty is the role of wood in contemporary architecture.
He recently published “Towards a Culture of Wood Architecture”, a book that brings together ideas and insights from more than a decade of research, writing and lecturing on the role of wood in contemporary architecture, both in North America and abroad.
Taggart currently teaches history and theory in the architectural science degree program at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and is editor of the Sustainable Architecture and Building magazine. He was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada in 2010.
Taggart is one of a host of highly acclaimed speakers already scheduled for the event.
“New Zealand has a well earned reputation as a leader in growing sustainable plantation forests. In an increasingly competitive international market place it is important to take the next step and increase innovation within our timber related industries. Engineering solutions can drive improvements through the value chain from growing, harvesting, and use of timber products,” says. Andrew McEwen, President of the NZ Institute of Forestry.
“The sector faces predicted growth in harvest volumes, rising demand for structural logs, increasingly steep harvesting terrain, and growing national and international interest in wood buildings.
“Against this context, the 2012 NZIF Conference will discuss how engineering solutions can add value and improve performance within New Zealand’s plantation forest, wood processing and building sectors,” he said.