design.

cotu was designed by Jeff Klymson of the award winning architecture and design practice Collective Office as a passion project to research the idea of wellness through a balanced life using the lens and tools of architecture and design as the solution. The product uses CLT (cross-laminated timber) panels as the primary structure and interior finishes. This allows cotu to be very warm and natural, durable and long-lasting. Wood is a very human material for us, best used where protected from the natural elements perfect for an interior finish.

CLT (cross-laminated timber).

cotu used CLT panels which are a wood panels product made from gluing together layers of solid-sawn lumber, i.e., lumber cut from a single log. Each layer of boards is usually oriented perpendicular to adjacent layers and glued on the wide faces of each board, usually in a symmetric way so that the outer layers have the same orientation.

CLT has some advantages as a building material, including:

• Design flexibility – CLT has many applications. It can be used in walls, roofs or ceilings. The thickness of the panels can easily be increased by adding more layers and the length of the panels can be increased by joining panels together.

• Eco-friendly – CLT is a renewable, green and sustainable material, since it is made out of wood. It can sequester carbon, but differences in forest management practices translate into variations in the amount of carbon sequestered.

• Prefabrication – Floors or walls made from CLT can be fully manufactured before reaching the job site, which decreases lead times and could potentially lower overall construction costs.

• Thermal insulation – Being made out of multiple layers of wood, the thermal insulation of CLT can be high depending on the thickness of the panel.

• CLT is a relatively light building material – Foundations do not need to be as large and the machinery required on-site are smaller than those needed to lift heavier buildings materials. These aspects also provide the additional capacity to erect CLT buildings on sites that might otherwise be incapable of supporting heavier projects, and eases infilling projects where construction is especially tight or difficult to access due to the preexisting buildings around the site.