Meet the team – David Ross
Russwood’s Architectural Liaison Technicians are the first point of contact for architects looking to specify external timber cladding and decking. We caught up with David Ross to find out a bit more about him and his role in the Architectural Liaison Team (ALT).
“The ALT aim to work with architects from early in their design process, helping them to specify the best timber cladding species, coatings and fixings for their projects, to ensure both the performance and aesthetic requirements of their projects are met. I make regular visits around the UK to meet architects to discuss their projects and I give Russwood’s accredited External Timber Cladding CPD.
I am also involved in Russwood’s product development. This can be through collaborative projects with academics and other construction industry bodies to design entirely new timber products, or by analysing the market data. We collect the data through our conversations with architects, looking at our own product offering and investigating how this can be improved to ensure we are always offering the best cladding products on the market.
We get approached by a lot of architects with exciting projects, often where they are trying to use timber cladding in innovative ways. I enjoy the chance to visit these architects to discuss how best to achieve the proposed cladding on their projects.
I enjoy the chance to visit these architects to discuss how best to achieve the proposed cladding on their projects.
I’ve also enjoyed learning a lot more about timber over the last few years. From understanding how growing conditions can affect the timber, to the methods of processing and production of timber products and the possibilities and limitations of certain species and production methods. Using this knowledge to assist in the development of our product offering or the design of new timber products is very enjoyable.
I like that Russwood as a company are focused solely on providing timber from sustainable forestry and will not use or promote any environmentally damaging chemicals. It’s good to know I work for a company which is genuinely concerned about its environmental impact and through the supply of sustainable, natural timber products, is having a positive environmental effect.”
When I’m not at work…
“I have a small design studio in the centre of Glasgow where I work on my own furniture design projects, either for the Glasgow tenement flat I’ve been renovating, or for the occasional commission I take on. Recently I’ve been doing evening courses in pottery, both hand-building and on the potter’s wheel. On the rare occasion when the weather is good in Glasgow, I like to get out on my bike, usually just around the city. When the weather is bad, if I’m not in the studio, I can happily spend days cooking, reading, listening to music or watching telly!”
Not a lot of people know this about me…
“Whenever the opportunity presents itself, I will and do eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner – ideally at Baked, Paesano’s then Errol’s (the best three in Glasgow).”
Me in 3
“Furniture. Mugs. Pizza.”
If you enjoyed reading this blog you might also enjoy Meet the team – Morgan and Lynsey and Meet the team – Dougie Edwards.
We are always keen to hear from people who are interested in working at Russwood both in our yard and office teams. Available positions and details of how to apply speculatively can be found on our careers page.