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(Japan) Ingenious Element for Fire Design for CLT

Low-Cost, Long-Span Fire-Resistant Wood Construction Technology: O・Mega Wood (FR) – In technical cooperation with Shelter Co, Obayashi Corporation has developed a wood construction technology that allows the construction of fire-resistant long- span frames at low cost. 

Using timber in construction has been encouraged since 2010 after the enactment of the Act for Promotion of the Use of Wood in Public Buildings. Obayashi has always worked on wood construction technologies. 

In Japan, the Building Standards Act requires buildings that are 100 m² or larger to be fire-resistant when constructed in fire prevention districts. Therefore, fire-resistant technology is necessary when building medium to large wooden structures in urban areas. However, there have been issues related to the cost of building long-span frames that are needed for medium to large structures, especially if they are fire-resistant and have wood on the surface. This is because of the complexity of producing the materials. 

With the enactment of the law, the company developed O・Mega Wood, which enables long-span wood frames to be built at low cost and used in many construction projects. This adds a layer of combustible wood to quasi-fireproof O・Mega Wood, which contains fire-resistant gypsum board and provides three hours of fire resistance at low cost. It has a simple design with three layers of materials and the beautiful appearance of wood. 

Click here to read more.

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