Lamboo Technologies’ Structural Beams Feature in Airport Williamson County Airport Terminal Roof
- Nov 10, 2015
- 3 min read
SIUC Architecture Faculty and Students Tour Williamson County Airport
[Litchfield, November 10th, 2015] Tuesday, November 10th, Lamboo Technologies guided a tour for faculty and masters of architecture program students from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale (seniors) through the construction progress of the new terminal at the Williamson County Airport. At this stage, students witnessed the grid-work and framing before the roof is set. The students and faculty saw first-hand the successful installation of a Midwest material innovation, Lamboo’s structural engineered bamboo (winner of Illinois Governor’s Export Award in the Emerging/New Export Business category).
This year, the Williamson County Airport in Marion, Ill. received funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation for a new terminal. The new 23,000 sq. ft. terminal will replace an outdated 43-year-old structure. Because of Lamboo’s innovative structural material technologies, the Williamson County Airport is a showcase of sustainability and innovation and will be the first airport in the U.S. to have an entire roof structure made of Lamboo’s structural engineered bamboo. The project is already under construction with Lamboo beams being installed this year for a fall 2016 opening date.
Luke Schuette is the Director of Research and Product Development at Lamboo Technologies, and the bamboo product he helped engineer is now becoming part of the new terminal at Williamson County Regional Airport. "The key is, inherently as a raw material, as a bio-based material, it's about three times stronger than timber on average. In tensile strength, it's over ten times stronger when you compare it to timber," Schuette explained.
Not only is Schuette an SIU alum, his company is based in central Illinois. Airport leaders are excited about the local ties.
"This whole project we've tried to reflect southern Illinois and the importance this has, not only to this airport, but to our region," said Doug Kimmel, Director of the Williamson County Regional Airport.
Schuette says he was pushed to be innovative while in college. Now, current architecture students are getting their own innovative experiences, gaining new ideas for design and construction. "You kind of get the sense of, like, you want to create even bigger than this," said Luis Castanon, a junior at SIUC. "It helps seeing any building being built, just to see how it goes together, so you understand what you need to do when you design and how it goes together to make your structure work," explained graduate student Stephen Lauer. "It's really helpful because we get to see how it's constructed, new methods of construction, and how all the pieces actually go together," added Patrick Szczecina, also a graduate student in architecture.
Schuette is proud this new product is being used in an area close to his heart.
"Here we are, in southern Illinois, and one of the highest performance and most innovative structural materials is being integrated into this roof structure, and we're extremely pleased."
About Lamboo® Technologies
Lamboo® Technologies, LLC is the world leading bio-based materials company specializing in performance grade, engineered bamboo for structural, architectural, and OEM applications. Lamboo’s® products achieve unmatched performance, aesthetics, and sustainability through the integration of meticulously studied and selected bamboo species. Lamboo® products represent the height of durability, uniformity, and strength in biobased materials. Our advanced global research and product development are leading the world’s performance materials revolution. For more information about Lamboo® products, go to www.lamboo.us.
Lamboo® Structure™ Structural Beams, Purlins, Columns, Components, and Glu-Lams.
For more specific information about Lamboo® material technologies and their premium partners, feel free to call us at 866-966-2999 or email us -- Connect with US
Media Contact: Michelle Benson
708.907.5301
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