Derix

Many see laminated timber as the building material of the future. For Derix that future already started long ago. The company produces laminated timber elements for small and large structures since 1962, always sourced from sustainably managed forests. From the start Derix is connected to prestigious timber building projects in Europe, from housing to hotels, from offices to zoos, from sport halls to airports. In this book you can discover the many different applications of this beautiful, renewable building material.

Building in timber is far more sustainable than in conventional building materials such as concrete and steel. Besides coming from a renewable resource, trees capture CO2 during growth, which is stored in timber constructions for the lifetime of the building. Furthermore, CO2 emissions during production, transport and construction are far lower compared to other building materials because of the relatively low weight of wood. Thus, CO2 and NOx emissions can be significantly reduced by building in timber. This makes it the building material of the future.

A major advantage of laminated timber is the quick building time. Building elements can be fully prefabricated in the factory, including slots and openings for electrics, services and doors and windows. Even complete modular building parts can be prefabricated in the factory, like the rooms including sanitary units for Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam (see pages 163). On the building site such prefab elements are quickly mounted and screwed together, as a large-scale assembly package. This makes laminated wood, in particular in the current times of housing deficit, an ideal building material for housing.

Besides for housing, laminated timber is also very suitable for commercial buildings such as offices, supermarkets, logistic halls, swimming pools, hotels, restaurants, sport halls and horse stables. Even high- rise buildings in timber are possible nowadays and the living and working climate within these buildings is more than excellent.

For such projects Derix manufactures glulam elements and cross laminated timber (CLT) panels. CLT by Derix, also called X-LAM, is made from various layers of German grown spruce, which are laminated perpendicularly onto each other. Derix’s glulam and CLT is manufactured in two modern, green-energy driven factories in Germany, one just across the Dutch border near Roermond and one near Osnabrück. The latter opened in 2019 and is one of the most advanced mass timber factories in Europe.

One of the strengths of Derix is its multi-disciplinary approach. Besides offering advanced manufacturing possibilities, the company is very strong in project management, engineering and planning, and also has its own installation team, making it possible to manage the whole building process and safeguard quality. Thus, Derix has realized prominent building projects in the Netherlands (coordinated from the office near Zwolle), Germany and other European countries. Get inspired by the many great examples in this book!