Vertical building extension method Optoppen launches in the UK

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The tool, which takes the form of a 3D webapp, has been created by design firm Mule Studio and engineer Whitby Wood, as part of a wider online platform, Optoppen.org. The free-to-use app includes policy information and case studies from cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona and London, where bio-based materials have been used to create low-carbon floorspace or housing.

The work involves a wider project team based in the Netherlands, Spain and the UK, and has been financially backed by Built by Nature, a network and grant-making fund.

Project lead and Whitby Wood director Kelly Harrison described the Optoppen solution as ‘win, win, win’ as it creates ‘the most space possible with the buildings we already have, and the most readily-available, resource-efficient materials’.

She added: ‘Industry-wide discussions have revealed several important Optoppen avenues to explore further, and we hope to find support to continue and expand the project next year.’

Built by Nature chief executive Paul King, a former boss of the UK Green Building Council, said: ‘Everywhere I go, I am asked about the exciting potential of using lightweight, low-carbon, mass timber to extend our existing buildings upwards.

‘The launch of the Optoppen platform provides the tools and resources to implement solutions which lead the way in extending the life and commercial value of buildings, whilst saving embodied carbon and creating vibrant urban spaces.

‘We hope the momentum we’ve helped build will inspire asset owners, developers, investors, and city governments worldwide to embrace this transformative approach and create a new timber canopy for our cities.’

Optoppen.org is intended for use by building owners, developers and city planners who need to increase built space in their assets or at a neighbourhood scale and uses lightweight industrialised timber, which locks in carbon for decades, avoiding the emissions-intensive model of demolition and new-build.

Its backers say that the development method takes advantage of the spare load-bearing capacity of ‘the majority’ of existing buildings in Europe: most have consolidated the soil beneath them, meaning they have the potential to be topped up with more floors.