Wooden buildings that won’t burn

The Manila Times

Wooden buildings that won’t burn  The Japanese always liked to build in wood for its warm, human qualities, but due to fire danger it was replaced by steel and concrete. New technologies are now bringing it back. We’ll see wood fireproofed with a liquefied glass coating, and pillars made from layers of wood and gypsum board as fire-resistant as steel or concrete that allow the construction of large all-wooden structures. These new Japanese technologies could safely bring back the comfort and human touch of wood to buildings worldwide.  VIDEO BY MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN  Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net    Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #Japan #wooden #buildings

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:12 The Japanese have always preferred wooden homes and buildings for their warm human qualities.

00:17 New technological developments now promise to return this traditional material to its central role in building construction.

00:25 The concern with wood has always of course been fire.

00:30 Buildings must be resistant to the fires that often occur after disasters like earthquakes.

00:36 Finally, cutting-edge Japanese technologies can now bring wooden materials that won't catch fire.

00:43 It looks like water, but this is in fact glass, liquefied by a special process.

00:52 [Music]

00:57 Two identical wooden structures, one coated with this liquefied glass and one untreated.

01:02 Even with repeated dousing in gasoline, the coated wood refuses to burn and the structure retains its shape.

01:09 [Music]

01:13 When we brush off the soot, we can see the wood is completely unharmed.

01:18 The glass has protected it from the flames.

01:24 From homes to bridges, this technology has a huge range of applications.

01:32 Another new wood technology takes a completely different approach.

01:38 This concert hall is in Yamagata in the northeastern Tohoku region.

01:42 It seats 1,400 and has been officially recognized as the world's largest concert hall built out of wood.

01:53 Structures designed for large numbers of people are required to safely resist fires.

02:01 Kazuyoshi Kimura runs the local Yamagata company that developed the technology that made this possible.

02:10 Their idea was to protect the structural integrity of supporting wooden pillars with a layer that prevents the fire attacking their core.

02:20 Japan's culture of wood buildings inspired this technology that I hope will encourage wooden construction worldwide.

02:29 Kimura's pillar has three layers.

02:31 Two layers of wood separated by a layer of fire-resistant gypsum board.

02:39 Around the structural wooden pillar at the core is wrapped a layer of gypsum board containing about 20% water.

02:46 A second layer of wood is added to the outside.

02:53 In a fire, first the outer wooden layer completely burns off.

02:58 Next, the flames attack the inner gypsum board layer.

03:02 However, the high temperature causes the moisture in the gypsum board to evaporate as steam.

03:09 As long as steam is being produced, the functional inner wooden core is protected.

03:17 This wooden construction can survive a three-hour fire at 1,000 degrees Celsius.

03:23 Here's a test pillar after burning.

03:26 There are no traces of charring on the inner wooden pillar.

03:29 It's as fire-resistant as steel or concrete.

03:36 This lets us use wood to build structures that until now could only be made safely from steel or concrete.

03:44 These new Japanese technologies could safely bring back the comfort and human touch of wood to buildings around the world.

03:54 Wooden buildings simply feel nicer and more friendly to be in.

03:59 (Music)

04:02 (Music)

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04:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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