New research network focuses on wood architecture

Niels Martin Larsen and Anders Kruse Aagaard are creating an international network focusing on research into wood architecture.

16.12.2019

In the future, researchers from Denmark, Finland and Canada will be part of the newly created Arctic Wood Architecture Network. A network which has just received a grant of DKK 287,000 from The Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

Anders Kruse Aagaard and Niels Martin Larsen, from Aarhus School of Architecture, are behind the new research network. Along with researchers from Aalto University, Finland, and McGill University, Canada. The design office Geometria is also a member of the new network.

‘The purpose of the network is to investigate whether there is a potential for research collaboration across the different organisations. We will have an opportunity to visit the other partners of the network and see what facilities they have and what they are currently working on’, says Niels Martin Larsen, associate professor at Aarhus School of Architecture.

When the members of the network visit each other, a seminar is held at each venue. This seminar focuses on the area in which the host specialises.

‘Finnish Aalto University has over 20 years’ experience making full-scale wood prototypes together with students. In Canada they also have a special approach to design-build, which is of great interest to us. Here at Aarhus School of Architecture, we have progressed far in robotic fabrication. This means the members of the network have different things to contribute’, says Anders Kruse Aagaard, assistant professor at Aarhus School of Architecture. He continues:

‘Wood architecture is generally an area that is developing rapidly. In Denmark, wood is, of course, not the primary building material. But this might change. Wood is a sustainable building material. Which is why it’s essential that, through research, we understand how we can make the most of the potential of wood.

The two researchers are currently working on applying robotics technology to wood processing in the research project Material Imagination, which is also where the idea for the network originated.

‘We hope the network will yield new research projects. But, in any case, I think it is good for us to activate our knowledge from Material Imagination in an international context. This will certainly provide us with new perspectives on the area,’ says Niels Martin Larsen.

The Arctic Wood Architecture Network members will be meeting for the first time in the autumn of 2020 – at Aarhus School of Architecture.