The Timber Truth: SZMC Helmsley Cancer Centre
“This visible wooden structure fosters a healing environment”
Preview of The Timer Truth by Pablo van Der Lugt, featuring the SZMC Helmsley Cancer Center by Farrow Partners and Rubinstein Ofer
The Timber Truth by Pablo van der Lugt discusses the myths associated with mass timber construction and the potential for timber buildings. Van der Lugt draws from the latest research on timber, European building practices and policy developments to reveal the realities of working with the material.
The SZMC Helmsley Cancer Centre by Farrow Partners and Rubinstein Ofer is featured in the book, noted for its 16-meter-high structural frame, 715 individual glulam members, and CLT roof panels. The ‘Butterfly’ Cancer Centre is Jerusalem’s leading oncology facility characterised by its wing-like timber canopy and cascading interior courtyards which foster a hopeful, generous, and authentic healing environment.
Mass timber was employed at the Butterfly to offer a multi sensory healthcare environment to patients and staff inside and out of the facility. Wood is a natural material that possesses a unique scent, often shifting and becoming more prominent with the temperature and weather conditions.
Timber cladding at the SZMC Helmsley Cancer Center by Farrow Partners and Rubenstein Ofer
Olfactory stimulation is processed in the brain within the same region as memory and emotion. Scents can therefore trigger memories of place, meaning that sensory architecture can have a powerful effect on psychological health and wellbeing. The curation of atmosphere, or stimmung, in architectural design can have a profound effect on the human body. It is therefore with the utmost care that the built environment should be designed to foster health and inspire wellness.
To purchase The Timber Truth, see here. And to learn more about mass timber at the SZMC Helmsley Cancer Centre, see here