Briand Bois Factory Visit

Earlier this week, the B777 project team visited Briand Bois’ timber production facilities along with representatives of the Architect, Engineer and Contractor. The visit gave a unique opportunity to inspect the timber elements currently being fabricated for the project, including glulam beams and columns, and CLT floor slabs (cross-laminated timber).

Glulam and CLT are both types of engineered timber; planks of timber are glued together in layers in order to create larger sections with consistent engineering properties, enabling long spans and complex geometries to be achieved. Timber was chosen for this project for its sustainability, architectural appeal and lightweight properties, all of which work together to achieve the BREEAM and WELL certification for the project.

Briand Bois kindly gave a fascinating tour of their facilities, explaining the production process for the glulam elements and allowing the team to verify progress and assess the quality of the timber elements before delivery to the CERN site later this year. A tour was then given of the nearby Piveteau factory which is producing the CLT floor slabs for the building. The team was pleased with the high level of workmanship and quality standards observed throughout the factories.

For more information about the B777 project, visit our website: https://building777.web.cern.ch/

For regular updates on how the construction is progressing, visit the news page: https://building777.web.cern.ch/news/