A person kneels on the floor in a long, narrow room with exposed beams and partially stripped walls whilst building a modular wooden framework. Large industrial windows let in daylight.

A person kneels on a wooden frame while installing sustainable floorboards in a large, unfinished room with white walls, exposed brick, and a high ceiling with fluorescent lights.

Three people are assembling sustainable spruce shelves in a room with high ceilings, a large window, and exposed brick. Wooden planks and boxes are stacked on the floor as they organise the shelves along the walls.

Two people assemble modular wooden shelves in a bright room with tall windows. Stacks of plywood planks and tools are scattered on the floor. Completed shelving lines the walls as light streams in from the large window at the back.

Two people work in a workshop assembling modular wooden shelves and storing spruce planks. The room is filled with stacks of timber and finished shelving along the walls, with a large window at the back letting in light.

A wall with two rectangular windows above built-in cupboards, all made of light-coloured birch plywood. The ribbed, frosted glass and natural wood grain highlight the appeal of timber construction in this inviting space.

Thermal image showing a wall with a collage of posters in the centre, a warmer modular rectangular area on the left, and cooler objects below—possibly spruce or plywood; temperature readings show 7.2°C (bottom left) and 2.9°C (bottom right).

A thermal image of a Spruce modular classroom reveals cool temperatures near the windows, with one window corner at 0.1°C and 2.6°C. Warmer spots are visible on desks and surfaces, highlighting a focus on sustainable design.

Thermal image of a modular room with windows and shelves. The windows show a cooler temperature (3.7°C), whilst the upper right corner displays a warmer spot (7.1°C). Warm and cool areas are shown in red, yellow, and purple hues.

Thermal image of a room with a window and spruce boards leaning against the wall; colder area near the ceiling (4.3°C) and warmer spot at the bottom left (7.0°C).

We were privileged to head back to LCBA to help fit out some more of their space and try to regulate the temperature through the year a little better.

Using a selection of standard boxes, with a sprinkle to custom floor adjustments, we added insulation to help acoustics as well as temperature fluctuation.

Our inverted box/shelving unit system has become a go to solution for books, fabric rolls and anything else that might need to be tucked away or on display neatly.

Using thermal imaging technology for the first time we were able to capture the success of the retrofit modular internal system.

Photo credits – Ira Yonemura, Morgan Trowland, U-Build