Cross-Laminated Timber is the Most Advanced Building Material

Cross-Laminated Timber Continues to Impress Builders and Engineers

Author
By Clay Risen February 26, 2014

A WOODEN SKYLINE

Dan Bracaglia

On a cloudy day in early October, the architect Andrew Waugh circles the base of a nondescript apartment tower in Shoreditch, a neighborhood in East London. Shoreditch suffered heavily during the blitz of World War II—“urban renewal, compliments of the Luftwaffe,” Waugh says—and then spent decades in neglected decay. Recently, though, the neighborhood has come roaring back. Nightclubs and tech start-ups arrived first on the promise of cheap rent, and residents followed. Along with them came architects, urban planners, and engineers, many of whom make a pilgrimage to the same tower that Waugh now circumambulates.

From the outside, there is nothing particularly flashy about the nine-story building, called Stadthaus, that Waugh designed with his partner, Anthony Thistleton. Its gray and white facade blends almost seamlessly into the overcast London skies. It’s what’s inside that makes Stadthaus stand out. Instead of steel and concrete, the floors, ceilings, elevator shafts, and stairwells are made entirely of wood.

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But not just any wood. The tower’s strength and mass rely on a highly engineered material called cross-laminated timber (CLT). The enormous panels are up to half a foot thick. They’re made by placing layers of parallel beams atop one another perpendicularly, then gluing them together to create material with steel-like strength. “This construction has more in common with precast concrete than traditional timber frame design,” Thistleton says. Many engineers like to call it “plywood on steroids.”

When it opened in 2009, Stadthaus was by far the world’s tallest modern timber building. Since then, CLT towers have sprouted up everywhere. Waugh Thistleton built a seven-story apartment tower near Stadthaus in 2011, and construction is under way on a 90-foot-tall wood building in Prince George, British Columbia. In 2012, Stadthaus lost the height record to a 10-story apartment building in Melbourne called Forté.

Wood is both renewable and a carbon sink.

There are plans to go even higher. Swedish authorities have approved a 34-story wood tower in Stockholm, while Michael Green, a Vancouver architect, is seeking approval for a 30-story tower in his city. And the Chicago architecture mega-firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill recently published a feasibility study for a 42-story tower made predominantly of Cross-Laminated Timber. It’s become a competition among architects to see who can build the next tallest wood high-rise, says Frank Lam, a professor of wood building design and construction at the University of British Columbia.

Why the sudden interest in wood? Compared with steel or concrete, CLT, also known as mass timber, is cheaper, easier to assemble, and more fire resistant, thanks to the way wood chars. It’s also more sustainable. Wood is renewable like any crop, and it’s a carbon sink, sequestering the carbon dioxide it absorbed during growth even after it’s been turned into lumber. Waugh Thistleton estimates that the wood in Stadthaus stores 186 tons of carbon while the steel and concrete for a similar, conventionally built tower would have generated 137 tons of carbon dioxide during production. Wood nets a savings of 323 tons.

Demographers predict that the planet’s urban citizenry will double in 36 years, increasing the demand for ever-taller structures in ever-denser cities. Whether architects and construction firms build those towers from unsustainable materials like steel and concrete or employ new materials like CLT could make a huge difference in the Earth’s health. Put differently, the world’s urban future may just lie in its oldest building material.

CUT & ASSEMBLE

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels are cut to spec in a factory and assembled at the construction site.

KLH UK

When most people think of wood architecture, they imagine a balloon—or, rather, a balloon frame, the lightweight but sturdy residential-building system of thin wood beams introduced during the mid–19th century (so light, people said, that it might just float away). The frames, also known as “Chicago construction,” for the city where they first became popular, are cheap and easy to build. But while they are strong enough for a few floors of residential construction, balloon frames buckle quickly under more weight.

That became a problem in the late 19th century, as cities began to grow up as well as out. Fortunately, at around the same time, engineers and architects discovered how to use steel and concrete to build high-rise structures that could climb far above the tallest balloon frames. Chicago’s 138-foot Home Insurance Building, which opened in 1885, was the first to employ a steel skeleton, and thousands followed in quick succession.

It didn’t help wood’s case that in the late-19th and early-20th centuries a series of horrible urban fires swept through square mile after square mile of wooden houses and apartment blocks in cities such as Baltimore, Chicago, and San Francisco. These disasters led to strict local construction codes that limited the height of residential wood buildings to as low as five floors.

The rest is architectural history. The great forests of skyscrapers that grew across the world’s cities in the 20th century were made almost entirely of steel and concrete. “There was a long period where people forgot how to use wood,” says Alex de Rijke, a partner in the London architecture firm of dRMM, which has worked extensively with mass-timber design.

But over the last two decades, architects and engineers have begun to rethink the possibilities of wood as a structural building material. First came the technology itself. In the mid-1990s, the Austrian government funded a joint industry-academic research program to develop new, stronger forms of “engineered” wood to soak up the country’s oversupply of timber. The result was CLT—a lightweight, extremely robust material that could be prefabricated and custom cut.

The simple beauty of CLT is its orthotropic quality. Normal wood is strong in the direction of the grain but weak in the cross direction. CLT’s perpendicular layers make it strong in two directions. And because it relies on layers of smaller beams, it can reduce waste by using odd-shaped, knotty timber that lumber mills would otherwise reject.

CLT came about just as architecture was going through its own technological revolution. In the past, an architect would draft schematics by hand and send them to an engineer, who would convert the documents into specifications for each wood beam or steel plate. The components would then be cut at a mill and assembled, piece by piece, on-site—an expensive, time-consuming and often imprecise process.

Today, that’s all done by computer. An architect designs a building using 3-D AutoCAD software, and the program generates the material specs and sends them to robotic wood or steel routers, which shape panels with millimeter precision. The result is a set of building blocks that a small crew of workers can screw together in a matter of weeks. It took just 27 days for four men, working three days a week, to erect the timber portion of Stadthaus, about 30 percent faster than a comparable steel-and-concrete structure. Instead of building the tower from scratch on-site, Waugh said, it was more like assembling a piece of furniture. “The instructions are like Ikea but a little more straightforward, and the names are more pleasant,” he says.

REDESIGN

Courtesy SOM

For all its benefits, CLT has been a tough sell until recently. After employing the material to build a small arts club in 2003, Waugh and Thistleton spent years trying—and failing—to convince more clients to use it. “Whatever client came in, timber came on the table,” says Waugh, “and after an hour, timber all too often came off.”

The resistance arose from assumptions about wood as a material: Clients believed that any wood structure would behave like a balloon frame, with its structural weaknesses and vulnerability to fire. “We found the journey at times frustrating,” Thistleton says. “One thing we found was the inability of anyone to distinguish between mass timber and a timber frame.”

Fire is, of course, the first concern that comes to mind with wood construction. And yet, mass timber is actually safer in a fire than steel. A thick plank of wood will char on the outside, sealing the wood inside from damage. Metal, on the other hand, begins to melt. “Steel, when it burns, it’s like spaghetti,” says B.J. Yeh, the technical services director for APA—the Engineered Wood Association.

Slowly, though, developers are coming around, particularly those that grasp the economic benefits of building with CLT. When the Australian arm of Lend Lease, a global project management and construction company, began to design Forté, a 10-story apartment building in the docklands neighborhood of Melbourne, its engineers were not considering mass timber. “We originally looked for a lightweight construction solution that could work on relatively poor soil conditions,” says Andrew Nieland, who oversees timber construction projects for the company. CLT, they found, made the most sense financially. “We did our due diligence and came across engineered timber,” Neiland says. Generally speaking, CLT construction is about 15 percent cheaper than conventional steel and concrete, according to research by Waugh Thistleton.

Tenants are getting on board too. Despite fears that some may be turned off by safety concerns surrounding life in a wood tower, Forté proved to be a huge commercial success, with all the units sold out. “It was on the news in China,” says Nieland. “A colleague’s mother called and said, ‘What is this building?’ ” Going forward, he says that Lend Lease Australia is committed to building 30 to 50 percent of its projects with CLT.

But the biggest driving force behind the turn toward wood is a growing awareness among architects and developers about their field’s contribution to climate change. “Our industry leads all others in terms of its impact on the planet and human health,” Waugh says. Concrete and steel require enormous amounts of energy to produce and transport, generating more than a ton of carbon dioxide per ton of steel or concrete.

Wood, on the other hand—even engineered wood like CLT, which requires additional energy to cut and press into sections—is far more environmentally friendly. According to Wood for Good, an organization that advocates for sustainable wood construction, a ton of bricks requires four times the amount of energy to produce as a ton of sawn softwood; concrete requires five times, steel 24 times, and aluminum 126 times. Wood also performs better: It is, for example, five times more insulative than concrete and 350 times more so than steel. That means less energy is needed to heat and cool a wood building.

When CLT is used to build high-rise towers, the carbon savings can be enormous. The 186 tons of carbon locked into Stadthaus are enough to offset 20 years of its daily operations, meaning that for the first two decades of its life, the building isn’t carbon neutral—it is actually carbon negative. Rather than producing greenhouse gases, Stadthaus is fighting them.

While firms like Waugh Thistleton have focused on the lower end of the high-rise scale, others are designing radically taller buildings, up to 40 or more stories. The most recent proposal comes from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the firm behind some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers, including 1 World Trade Center and the Burj Khalifa. Called the Timber Tower Research Project, it reimagines Chicago’s 42-story Dewitt Chestnut apartment tower, which Skidmore designed in 1966, as a structure built primarily with CLT. Overall, the proposed building is about 80 percent wood with steel and concrete at the joints to provide added stiffness.

So far, the study is just that: a thought experiment. But for a blue-chip firm like Skidmore to embrace high-rise wood construction is a sign of how rapidly the technology is moving from the engineering vanguard to the mainstream.

It is unlikely that we’ll see wood towers rising as high as today’s supertall skyscrapers. But that leaves plenty of opportunity. Even in the world’s largest cities, only a handful of buildings are taller than 40 floors. “A huge chunk of the market is viable. New York is a high-rise city, but it’s not that tall,” says William F. Baker, who oversaw the Skidmore study with project engineer Benton Johnson. “We could handle most of Manhattan.”

Which brings us back to Stadthaus. If that unassuming building on a street corner in Shoreditch is actually a trap for hundreds of tons of carbon, imagine an entire city of Stadthauses. Structures that were once a major source of greenhouse gases could instead scrub them from the atmosphere. “Wood is the new concrete,” says de Rijke, of dRMM. “Concrete is a 20th-century material. Steel is a 19th-century material. Wood is a 21st-century material.”

The New Wood: Making CLT

The process for producing cross-laminated timber makes clear why architects call it “plywood on steroids.” Its layered structure gives it immense strength in two directions, producing a lightweight alternative to steel or concrete.

THE NEW WOOD

Courtesy SOM

1) Layer

Beams of wood, usually spruce, are set down side by side in layers, with each layer perpendicular to the one beneath it, creating a wood board up to a foot thick. A thin layer of glue is placed between each layer.

2) Press

The wood boards are placed in a massive press, which squeezes them together.

3) Sand

The edges of the boards are sanded down. If longer sections are needed, the edges are fingerboarded to create a serrated interlocking end. They are then glued to the matching end of another panel to create sections up to 78 feet long.

4) Cut

The boards are cut to custom specification, incorporating spaces for windows and utilities, using 3-D files sent by the architects or construction team.

Anatomy Of A Timber Tower

ANATOMY OF A TIMBER TOWER

Courtesy Waugh Thistleton Architects

1) Whereas steel or concrete structures are skeletal, using columns to carry loads, CLT towers distribute weight over the entire, solid vertical panel.

2) Steel or concrete L-brackets fix the horizontal and vertical CLT panels together.

3) The horizontal spans between vertical CLT elements can be significantly longer than with steel or concrete beams.

4) Interior walls are usually fireproofed by applying a layer of gypsum paneling on top of the mass timber panels.

5) A two-inch layer of concrete typically covers two two-inch layers of insulation (separated by a three-inch void) to reduce acoustic vibration between floors.

6) Panels come made to order with windows cut out and sometimes piping and electrical installed. Construction is as easy as screwing the panels together.

7) Elevators have double walls with insulation sandwiched between them for fire safety and soundproofing.

This article originally appeared in the March 2014 issue of Popular Science.

For further information log on website :
https://www.popsci.com/article/technology/worlds-most-advanced-building-material-wood-0#page-4

Is Wood the Future of Materials?

Author
Mark Atwater posted on March 04, 2014


Think of three advanced materials. Some things that might come to mind are carbon fiber, superalloys or nanomaterials such as graphene. Most often, wood will not be high on that list. Although wood is not new, some advanced engineering is making it perform new tasks.

Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is helping wood find its way back into commercial construction. Although residential construction uses wood framing extensively, for larger structures incorporating many levels, it simply doesn’t offer the necessary support.

If you need to build a tall building, you need strong, durable materials. Steel and concrete have done wonders for skyscraper design. The problem with these materials is that they require considerable energy to produce. The majority of that energy is sourced from nonrenewable fuels.

Wood requires energy too. Engineered wood products such as oriented strand board (OSB), medium-density fiber board (MDF), plywood, etc. all require more energy than dimensional lumber because they incorporate additional steps in manufacturing and secondary bonding materials. CLT requires significant processing beyond chopping a tree down, but it still has a lot to offer.

What makes CLT different from other mass building materials is that it’s produced from a renewable material. First, the trees must grow. In doing so, they will be actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. That is something inorganic materials cannot hope to achieve.

The tallest modern timber building in the world, the nine-story Stradhaus, is claimed to store 186 tons of sequestered carbon in its wooden structure. Looking for sustainable options in building, architecture firms are taking the advancements in timber materials seriously with sights on building higher in the future.

CLT can make this happen because it is engineered to withstand greater and more varied forces. A single board, like the tree it came from, is anisotropic. The properties parallel to the grain are much different than across it.  That is one of the benefits of plywood in which each layer is specifically oriented (often in 90 degree increments). This principle of engineering through grain orientation is applied to CLT as well.

Unlike plywood, CLT uses full-size, dimensional lumber which is oriented and glued at right angles. The process and product are essentially scaled-up plywood sheets capable of handling much more load.

The CLT panels are prefabricated, which speeds construction. Due to their dense construction, the panels are also fire-resistant and aid in insulating the building.

CLT construction is a variant on the proven performance of plywood. The increase in scale allows for a commensurate increase in project size. Although not appropriate for every endeavor, it is allowing for wood to make an encore appearance in commercial construction. As it turns out, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

The video below discusses more about CLT (with some salesmanship).

For further details logon website :
https://www.engineering.com/DesignerEdge/DesignerEdgeArticles/ArticleID/7261/Is-Wood-the-Future-of-Materials.aspx

The Future of Wood

Published Thursday 03rd July 2014

What does the future hold for wood?

While we may not have jet packs or flying cars quite yet, there's no doubt we're living firmly in the future. Although we're only a decade in, the 21 st century has seen exciting developments in disparate fields, from medicine and consumer technology to renewable energy and beyond.

However, as part of a rather interesting trend - the world of construction has taken something of a sidestep from focusing on new synthetic materials in favour of a time-honoured favourite - wood. In this article, we'll take a look at what the future holds for timber - in terms of both grand construction, jobs that are closer to home and some categories that are firmly outside the box altogether.

Why Timber?

As environmental worries over climate change have grown, we've been forced to look at the things we can do to reduce our impact on the planet's resources. One key area of focus has been the construction industry and while it's not feasible for people to simply stop building things - changing the materials that are used and the way these are sourced can be of great benefit.

It's therefore easy to see why wood has come to the fore as a great option. Trees actively absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, converting it into the air we breathe. The captured carbon will remain locked away for the entire life of the tree - even if it's subsequently turned into other products.

Wood is also a highly sustainable material to invest in. Its biology and lifecycle enables forests to be used as carbon sinks, products to be created and greater numbers of trees to be replanted to replace their precursors.

Grand Designs

The demand for space in urban areas is unlikely to dwindle any time soon and since we can't indefinitely spread out horizontally - the only way is up. For as long as we've been building skyscrapers, office blocks and other large-scale structures, we've been putting them together with a mixture of concrete and steel.

These materials require a significant amount of energy to source and process, which is just one factor that could prompt a regression toward wood in the coming years. There are obvious challenges to building with timber on such a scale, but ancient Asian architects have provided proof of concept - constructing towering timber structures for centuries.

Modern planners, builders and architects have been keen to take advantage of wood too and one great advance in the field has been the development of cross-laminated timber (CLT). This material consists of a layered panel, composed of thin wooden boards that are glued together in alternating orientations.

Constructing the panels in this way makes them sturdy, rigid and resistant to fire - making them the ideal candidate to replace the pre-fabricated concrete panels that currently make up many of our modern buildings.

While CLT is nothing new, having been in use on projects for the best part of a decade, the scale in which it's used is set to grow in the coming years. One vocal proponent of wooden skyscrapers is Vancouver-based architect Michael Green.

His Ted Talk on the topic is a must-see for those with ten minutes to spare, but to summarise he's been working on 30-story wooden buildings using mass timber panels made up of young trees that can be engineered to varying degrees of thickness.

"If we built a 20-story building out of cement and concrete, the process would result in the manufacturing of that cement and 1,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide. If we did it in wood, in this solution, we'd sequester about 3,100 tonnes , for a net difference of 4,300 tonnes. That's the equivalent of about 900 cars removed from the road in one year," Green said.

The UK is ideally situated to take advantage of this trend, with a readily available stock of timber available both close to home and on an import basis. And it'll certainly be interesting to see how the commercial construction sector adapts and responds to the challenges of sustainability in the coming years.

Closer to Home

Timber's bright future isn't restricted to massive projects, however and there promises to be many developments in the field that will be a boon to the average homeowner and builder alike.

Accoya

A true 21st century timber product, Accoya has seen a massive uptake in the past decade since it came to market. It's created by manipulating the wood acetylation process to improve the technical properties of wood.

By altering the material's cell structure, it's possible to change groups of free hydroxyl (which are responsible for climatic contraction and expansion in wood) into acetyl groups - reducing the wood's ability to absorb water.

The end result is an improvement in stability, as well as an increased resistance to fungi and insect infestations - making it the perfect option for those seeking a long-lasting material that works brilliantly in windows, doors, cladding and conservatories.

3D Printing

While it's better-known for its use of plastics, metals and other synthetic materials - wood can look forward to a warm future in the world of 3D printing. Using wood powder, filaments and in some cases even solid blocks 3D printers can churn out items of unparalleled complexity and imagination.

The unique aesthetics offered by handcrafted wooden furniture have long been sought-after, but price has proved a barrier for many. Could this trend herald a new era of arboreal egalitarianism? In the near-term, it's unlikely. Consumers will simply be trading one price barrier for another as they fork out for expensive 3D printing equipment and specialised materials.

Attack of the Clones

The forests of tomorrow could be populated with clones thanks to the machinations of one shadowy organisation.

Only kidding - the Ancient Tree Archive is actually a group of benign arborealists dedicated to propagating the planet's oldest and most hardy trees. The mission statement of the non-profit organisation is to use these old growth clones to create thriving ecosystems that mitigate the effects of global warming.

Tomorrow's World

We've barely skimmed the tip of the iceberg with the above products and the next few years will undoubtedly be an exciting time for timber.

If you think we've missed anything obvious or simply want to share your picks for innovative timber products, give us a shout on Twitter. We always love to hear what you have to think.

And if you're looking for quality timber to suit any job - big or small - be sure to check out our wide range ofproducts, or simply get in touch with us today.

Image used courtesy of Brian Snelson on Flickr

For further details log on website :
http://www.internationaltimber.com/news/timber/the-future-of-wood

Planting for the Future: How Demand for Wood Products Could Be Friendly to Tropical Forests (2014)

Increasing demand for wood products doesn't have to mean increasing damage to tropical forests.

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Report

Demand for wood products such as paper, furniture and construction materials is a major cause of damage to tropical forests—and that demand is projected to increase over the next half-century.

The good news is that there are ways to satisfy that demand sustainably. The UCS report Planting for the Future combines economic modeling with ecological theory and data to evaluate the impact of increased demand on tropical forests, and shows how innovative management practices, reinforced by effective policy and consumer awareness, can meet projected wood product needs while also conserving forests.

Demand for wood and its impact on forests

Wood is a ubiquitous part of everyday life. We use it for building materials, furniture, paper and packaging, and as an energy source.

Unfortunately, much of this wood is produced in ways that damage tropical forests. Some of this damage comes in the form of outright deforestation, in which forests are completely cut down and replaced by farms or pastures.

But even where logging is more selective, and most trees are left standing, collateral damage from the logging process can harm several trees for each one cut down. Management practices that can minimize this damage exist, but are being used in only 5 percent of managed tropical forests. 

Different forests, different products

Forest management approaches vary according to the species being grown and the products they will be used for. Planting for the Future focuses on four approaches in particular:

Fast wood monocultures. These plantations are typically used to produce paper, charcoal, and wood-based panels; the most common species are eucalyptus (especially in Brazil, India, and South Africa) and acacia (mostly in south and southeast Asia).  The impact of fast wood monocultures varies depending on prior uses of the land: in Brazil, for instance, fast wood plantations are most often grown on former pastures, while in Southeast Asia they often replace natural forests and have become a major driver of deforestation.

Intermediate-rotation hardwood plantations. Intermediate-rotation plantations are primarily used to grow softwoods such as pine and spruce in temperate regions, but some tropical hardwoods are grown in this way—most notably teak. Some teak still comes from natural forests rather than plantations.

Long-rotation hardwood plantations. These are used for selected high-value species, allowing producers to avoid logging natural forests. Because of their economic challenges—capital is tied up for decades waiting for trees to mature—these plantations are found in very few places.

Logged natural forests. Selective logging of natural forests can be sustainable, but it is difficult to manage, and poorly implemented selective logging is a primary cause of forest degradation. Reduced-impact logging (RIL) can prevent many of the adverse effects of selective logging. Another option for reducing the impact of natural-forest logging is to rely on secondary forests, which have already been disturbed by previous human activity.

The future of the global forestry sector

Modeling of global industrial roundwood and fuelwood consumption from 2010 to 2060 indicates that demand for industrial products will increase in the future, while fuelwood use will decrease. (Click on thumbnail for full-sized version.)

Using an economic model known as the Global Forest Products Model and data sourced from the Food and Agriculture Organization's Statistical Database, Planting for the Future projects future demand for wood products through 2060. The results show that while overall consumption will increase, the relative proportions of different wood products will change, with absolute consumption of some products actually decreasing:

• Pulp and paper consumption will increase by more than 100 percent.
• Solid wood products will grow at a slower rate, between 28 and 61 percent.
• Consumption of wood for fuel will decrease by 23 percent, as developing countries follow a path similar to industrialized nations, away from wood and toward oil, gas, and renewable energy.

Since the fastest projected growth is in pulp and paper, fast wood plantations—which primarily produce wood for these uses—are likely to play a larger role in the future wood market. Therefore it is particularly important that these plantations be sustainable.

Creating a sustainable forest future

Meeting increased demand for wood in a sustainable way will require effective government policies, innovative technologies, and informed consumers. Here are some of the strategies the report recommends:

Timber tracking. If we want to vote for sustainability with our wallets, we need reliable information about where our wood comes from. There are several different technologies for tracking wood from source to consumer, ranging in complexity from simple labeling to bar coding to isotope fingerprinting.

Multispecies plantations. Ecological theory suggests that multiple species can make more efficient use of limited resources than a single species. And there is evidence that applying this theory to forest management can lead to improved soil quality, quicker growth, and higher timber yields. Multispecies plantations are more expensive to manage than monocultures, but these costs could be offset by increased yields and environmental benefits. Policies to encourage multispecies plantations could have both economic and environmental benefits. However, more research is needed in order to better understand how and where these plantations will work best.

Future impacts in key markets. Market forces can influence forestry practices in several ways:

• Forestry contributes to economic growth in developing countries, and conversely, rising wealth in those countries increases domestic demand for wood products, so sustainably grown wood products are needed globally.
• Consumer demand for sustainable wood has led to expanded markets for certified wood as well as independent verification efforts such as the recent agreement between the Rainforest Alliance and Indonesian industry giant Asia Pulp and Paper.
• Policies such as carbon taxes have been proposed as a way to make carbon storage a more valuable use of forests than wood products. However, the report finds that such measures may be less effective than other policy incentives, such as strict logging limitations combined with reduced-impact logging.

There are two possible futures: one in which demand for wood products is met in a sustainable way, and another in which business-as-usual production continues to degrade and destroy tropical forests.

For further details log on website :
https://www.ucsusa.org/our-work/global-warming/stop-deforestation/planting-future-demand-wood-products#.WkbuAFN96M8

Goal Setting in Relationships

Author
by RAQUEL VILLARREAL 

Setting goals with your partner can be a double-edged sword. On one end, when you achieve them you feel joy and exhilaration for having realized a dream or aspiration. On the other hand, when you fail to meet them, you may face disappointment as you are forced to reevaluate your ambitions. When it comes to your relationship, setting achievable goals with a tone of collaboration can help enrich each other’s lives and support the bond between you and your partner.

VIDEO OF THE DAY

 

The Anatomy of Relationships

No relationship is the same, and just like people change over time, so does a relationship. According to Donald Peterson, contributing author of “Goal Concepts in Personality and Social Psychology,” there are five general stages that can be distinguished in the development of close relationships: acquaintance, buildup, continuation, deterioration and ending. Obviously not all relationships go through all stages, but the changes in goals from one stage to another are critical in determining the course a relationship will follow.

Stephen John Read and Lynn Carol Miller, also contributing authors of “Goal Concepts in Personality and Social Psychology,” recount how individuals may base their projections of what a relationship might be like with someone in part on how each other’s life goals will mesh with one other. The idea that “opposites attract” has been debunked by research showing how “most married couples tend to be more alike than different in regards to life goals, interests, values and personality dispositions, as well as education, economic status, and other sociological variables.” In other words, when evaluating a prospective partner, people look at how they can accomplish goals in common, for example having intellectually stimulating conversations, having children, etc.

Goal-Setting Strategies

Relationship goals can cover the gamut, including areas such as problem solving, emotional support, financial goals, creating a family, etc. One way to set goals in your relationship is by having a weekly meeting with your significant other to go over the upcoming week and set a ‘to-do’ list of items for each other. Then, review those same items from the past week and move forward anything still needing to be completed. As part of this process, share three positive things big or small that your partner did that you liked in the past week, and one negative thing you would like them to consider working on. In time, you will have created a habit of openly talking about where things are with your relationship, and where you want them to be.

Another way to set goals with your significant other is by applying some of the guidelines set forth in “Goal Setting: How to Create an Action Plan and Achieve Your Goals.” Authors Susan B. Wilson and Michael S. Dobson recommend writing them down in specific measurable terms, so that you can visualize and achieve them with realistic deadlines. As part of defining these goals, make sure to keep them manageable and actionable, as well as include a regular review of their progress. Reward desired behavior, reinforce successes however big or small and provide feedback when correction is needed. When correcting, do so in private and be specific, focusing on the error and not the person to avoid grudges and keep a healthy outlook. Develop objectives for both the short and long term.

From Extrinsic to Intrinsic Motivation

In a study published in the “Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,” researchers examined the connection between relationship satisfaction and self-regulation. “Individuals experiencing higher levels of satisfaction in their relationship exhibit higher levels of perceived control, goal focus, perceived partner support, and positive affect during goal pursuit.” This results in higher rates of daily progress on personal goals. In other words, as your relationship satisfaction increases, so does your motivation to effectively self-regulate your actions and progress toward achieving your goals.

According to Peterson, goals between partners tend to converge to the extent that transformations occur mutually. For example, “a person who initially stopped smoking to please a partner may genuinely come to find smoking abhorrent.” Changes in personal dispositions of this kind are independent of the relationship, and when they occur they can reduce the demands for accommodation by shifting the motivation from an extrinsic to an intrinsic place. Keep in mind that any union is limited by the biological needs and personal goals of the individuals in the relationship, so revisiting them on a regular basis can keep interests and values aligned in the long term.

For further information log on website :
https://www.livestrong.com/article/14685-goal-setting-in-relationships/