High-performance, energy efficient and carbon capturing in it’s creation- there are a myriad of reasons why we should be building with timber, as Lamella explains
We live on a planet bathed in energy. Every second, the sun pours down more power than humanity could ever need and it’s clean, constantly renewing itself, and free.
Yet the way we live and build treats energy like it’s scarce.
Most of today’s construction depends on converted energy – electricity, heat, and fuel generated by extracting, refining, and burning resources. And renewables take the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity.
This is all expensive, inefficient, and deeply polluting. And inadequate to meet future demand.
But what if we could bypass that process and build with the sun’s energy, instead of just converting and consuming it?
At Lamella, we do exactly that. We build with sunshine.
It’s not a metaphor. Every tree is a solar panel. Every Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building is a battery. We’re turning sunlight into structure.
Capturing, not converting
Trees capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store solar energy as biomass. That stored energy becomes timber, one of the only building materials that gives back more than it takes.
When we build with CLT, we’re not just reducing emissions. We’re avoiding the need for converted energy altogether. Unlike steel or concrete, timber doesn’t require high temperatures or industrial combustion to become a building material. It grows quietly, powered by the sun.
The result is a high-performance structure that’s lighter on the planet and better for people.
CLT buildings store carbon for generations. They’re breathable, airtight, thermally efficient, and incredibly fast to assemble. They require less energy to operate, and even less to construct. And because timber supports biophilic design, they’re simply better spaces to live and work in.
At Lamella, for every tree we use, three more are planted, creating a regenerative cycle that continues long after construction is complete.
This isn’t just carbon offsetting, although it is. This is bigger. It’s nature’s original cycle adopted for the built environment.
It’s not an energy shortage; it’s an efficiency crisis
According to Ambio, the entire world’s annual energy usage is equivalent to just one hour of solar radiation received by Earth. Energy is not the problem, efficiency is.
We spend billions converting energy that’s already abundantly available in natural forms.
Trees, however, do it for free. With photosynthesis, they capture and store the sun’s energy without needing wires, wind turbines, or photovoltaics.
That’s why building with timber is more than sustainable. It’s a better use of the energy we already have.
Scaling a smarter future
At Lamella, we’re proving that timber construction isn’t just possible, it’s preferable. Our CLT buildings exceed RIBA 2030 and LETI carbon benchmarks, achieve top-tier energy ratings, and cut construction timelines dramatically.
In a recent project, we installed over 200 cubic metres of precision-engineered CLT in under two weeks. The result was a quiet, healthy, high-performance learning space tailored to the needs of SEND students.
This is how we create progress, by combining natural intelligence with modern engineering.
We’re not waiting for the future of construction to arrive. We’re building it now.
Build with energy, not against it
The sun will still be shining reliably in 2050 and for 5 billion years to come. But the way we build, and the energy we demand, needs to change today.
We already have the materials. We already have the knowledge and the processes. And we already know what’s at stake.
Let’s stop building as if energy is scarce. It’s not if we use the energy straight from the sun. Aside from timber and other plant-based materials all building materials are manufactured using electricity, that is converted energy whether derived from mined fuels or renewables. And they all have a carbon emission impact. Timber doesn’t, it stores carbon.
Let’s stop relying on high-carbon and expensive habits that no longer serve us.
Substitute the sun.
Build. Grow. Breathe.
The post Building with sunshine: why building with timber is the smartest energy decision appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
