What is the future of building in wood?

Anders Kruse Aagaard and Niels Martin Larsen will be exhibiting at the Build In Wood conference: a conference with which Aarhus School of Architecture has entered into a partnership

20.03.2019

Anders Kruse Aagaard and Niels Martin Larsen will be exhibiting at the Build In Wood conference: a conference Aarhus School of Architecture has entered into a partnership with

Construction and wood are inextricably linked. This has always been the case; and if Niels Martin Larsen and Anders Kruse Aagaard have their say, this is also how it will be the future.

They are part of a research project called Material Imagination, which examines wood materials through digital fabrication.

“In recent years, wood has experienced a revival in the building industry. And there is a lot of wood construction taking place at the moment”, says Anders Kruse Aagaard. He then adds:

“The increased focus on the climate impact of construction is one of the main reasons for wood coming back into fashion. Using wood is an easy way to reduce the carbon footprint of a specific building project”.

Although, at first glance, it would seem that the construction industry using a natural material to reduce the climate impact – a material that has over time played a crucial role in both construction and architecture – is a very positive story; the story is not nearly as rosy as it might seem, according to the two researchers.

“The wood tends to be processed so much that it resembles the materials the wood is intended to replace to make a building project more climate-friendly – materials such as concrete. This, however, also means you lose many of the qualities wood otherwise has”, says Niels Martin Larsen.

Whereas unprocessed wood is a breathable and natural material, modern wood materials are characterised by being more uniform and thus more suited to the conventional way of approaching construction.

Advanced technology

The two researchers recently visited Finland. Here they looked into how the wood industry is using modern technology in its production.

“They are very advanced when it comes to using technology. The wood is thoroughly scanned before it is cut. This is a way of mapping the structure of the wood, which, among other things, allows you to optimise the strength of the final product”, says Anders Kruse Aagaard.

The final result is several square beams, in which the wood fibres all point in the same direction to achieve high load-bearing capacity and predictability.
Anders Kruse Aagaard and Niels Martin Larsen also use high-tech aids when they work with wood. They, however, employ the robots in a significantly different way.

“We are investigating whether you can use digital tools to discover new ways of using wood; ways which are based on the wood’s own terms. We hope we can help ensure that there will be an added value in terms of architecture when we start using wood more extensively in the building sector. We also hope to retain the good qualities of untreated wood”, Anders says.

The two researchers are currently scanning the wood. Next, a robot will be instructed to cut the wood along the natural lines and grains of the wood based on a 3D model.

Exhibiting at the conference

Although more wood has been used in construction in recent years, the two researchers say that the examples collection of the Danish building regulations has not been updated to include the new ways of using wood.

“We would like to help set the course of wood construction in 20 years’ time. It’s really all about the wood not just imitating concrete. To achieve this, we will, however, have to show other ways of using wood”, says Niels Martin Larsen.

In May 2019, the conference Build In Wood will be held in Copenhagen. The conference is aimed at the building industry. And the purpose is to discuss the use of wood in the building sector. Aarhus School of Architecture recently entered into a partnership with Build In Wood. One of the results of this partnership is that Anders Kruse Aagaard and Niels Martin Larsen will be exhibiting their research at the conference.

“Apart from an ambitious programme involving more than 40 speakers, we will make it an exciting and informative exhibition; an exhibition which will give the participants a really good idea about all the good, creative and innovative solutions that exist and also provide motivation for new collaborations. As something new this year, we are organising an area called Wood Village. This area will contain a physical exhibition of ideas and projects from many different contributors, ranging from entrepreneurs and researchers to the projects of architectural practices. It is important to meet people at eye level and get a good insight in the ideas that are currently emerging. We need to take inspiration from people who are rethinking wood as a building material. In this respect we are very pleased that Aarhus School of Architecture wants to help create an exciting experience for the conference participants and present their latest research”, says Ditte Rosenquist, project manager, Build In Wood.

The two researchers are quite clear about what they want to achieve by participating in the conference.

“I hope we can help inspire the industry; and we also want to provide a nuanced picture of how you can use wood. We want to discuss how we can find room for different ways of using wood in the building standards of the future”, says Anders Kruse Aagaard. He goes on to add:

“Sustainability is a goal for Aarhus School of Architecture. And there can be no doubt that using wood in construction is sustainable. This makes it natural for us to help guide this development in the right direction”.