Draft:Abodo Wood

ABOUT

Established in 2001 by the Gudsell family, Abodo is a family-owned timber manufacturing company based in New Zealand. The company creates carbon-negative feature timbers that are safe for both people and the environment.

Abodo uses only Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) certified New Zealand grown timbers, providing an alternative to unsustainable old growth wood.

Abodo has a Head Office, Warehouse and Showroom in Mangere Auckland, Warehousing and Manufacturing in Ohinewai and, showcase feature building in Cardrona. Abodo employs over 70 people nationwide and supplies timber merchants locally in New Zealand and internationally to Australia, South Pacific, UK, Europe, US, Canada and Asia.

Many exterior timbers are harvested from unsustainable old growth forests or are treated with harmful chemicals. Abodo uses local alternatives to replace unsustainable imported timber from old-growth forests.

SUSTAINABILITY

Abodo uses timbers sourced from New Zealand's FSC® certified plantation forests. FSC® certified forests are responsibly managed and require a minimum of 10% of the managed forest to be set aside for native planting, alongside this a percentage of the plantation forest is required to not be cut down, in order to encourage biodiversity.

New Zealand is a key base for sustainable forestry. Consistently ranked in the top two for the world’s least corrupt country, New Zealand is broadly unaffected by the corruption that affects wood producers in other parts of the world.

Abodo selects high quality logs, which are then sawn near the plantation, reducing transport emissions and optimising operational efficiency. Strong partnerships with forest owners in New Zealand's North Island helps to ensure a consistent supply of FSC® (FSC-C010962) certified logs.

Abodo has created a patented lamination method that joins mainly flatsawn grain timber lengthways into blocks, creating an engineered vertical grain orientation. This increases stability and improves weathering characteristics plus it helps to create a wider range of possible timber dimensions and therefore a wide variety of practical uses.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise states that every cubic metre of Abodo’s finished wood captures around 500kg of carbon from the atmosphere, even taking the full manufacturing and supply chain into account.

TIMBER SOURCES

Kaingaroa Region - New Zealand

Much of Abodo’s Radiata Pine and Douglas fir is sourced from the Kaingaroa region, in New Zealand’s central North Island. The Kaingaroa Forest, is one of the largest man-made plantations forests in the southern hemisphere. Today the Kaingaroa Forest is managed by Timberlands, a global forest manager, on behalf of investors. It is a world class forest, which is Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified. Wood fibre from the Kaingaroa region is prized for its medium density, and high consistency.

Hawke’s Bay Region – New Zealand

In New Zealand’s eastern North Island the Hawke’s Bay region is home to a high-quality pruned Radiata Pine resource. This forest region is Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) certified. All Abodo timbers are Forest Stewardship Council® chain of custody under certificate number SGS-COC004944. This label gives assurance that the timber comes from responsible sources.

PROJECTS

Cardrona Cabin – Queenstown, New Zealand

Designed by Assembly Architects and built by Dunlop Builders as a showcase for Abodo, the cabin is set in New Zealand’s South Island, between Wānaka and Queenstown. It demonstrates the durability and beauty of Abodo timber products and processes.

Cottesloe House – Perth, Australia

This resort style home, designed by John Lewis Architects and Courtico Interiors uses timber blades as large sculptural cantilevers to manage and control direct sunlight.

Tūhoe Living Building - Lake Waikaremoana, New Zealand

Te Uru Taumatua was built under the criteria of the international Living Building Challenge, a building in the words of LBC’s founder, Jason F. Mclennan, “that will never have an energy bill, that will never have a water bill, that are built with non-toxic materials, that are adapted perfectly to the site that they’re on and the climate that’s there.” Te Uru Taumatua is a Tūhoe building designed by Jasmax as a centre of governance and a meeting place for iwi. The building uses Abodo’s sustainably harvested eco-timbers.

The Seagull Wing Cabin – Lower Hutt, New Zealand

The concept for this cabin was based on the Richard Bach’s book, ‘Jonathan Livingston Seagull’ with the roof designed to create the impression of a seagull wing. It uses cladding and natural elements to connect the cabin to nature.

Vodafone Building – Christchurch, New Zealand

Abodo’s eco timber helped the Vodafone Building achieve its Green Star rating. Designed to promote natural ventilation and light, and conserve water and energy, the planet-friendly building has achieved a 5 Green Star Design rating from the New Zealand Green Building Council.

Noir – Brisbane Australia

Built by Zephyr Industries in Brisbane’s Hamilton Hill, Noir has views over Brisbane city. The build was an "extremely challenging project” according to Zephyr Industries’ Brayden Larkin . The house uses Abodo’s blackened timber cladding.

AWARDS

Abodo’s products have featured in a number of design and architecture awards.