Build in Wood
Making wood the natural choice building material
Led by the Danish Technological Institute and sponsored by the European Horizon Fund, this four-year project brings together experts from across the wood value chain in Europe and internationally to develop and test new, mass-timber building systems for multi-storey structures. The ambition of this project is to enable optimized and cost-effective wood construction methods to become common practice.
A consortium of experts have come together to advise on the design, technical, economic, legislative, and phycological barriers facing the widespread use of engineered mass-timber. Build in Wood engages principles of circularity to reduce our dependence on non-renewable recourses, such as steel and concrete, in the construction of our built environment, and to decrease construction related waste and minimise carbon emissions.
Central to the Build in Wood project is the design, development, and prototyping of new building systems, to demonstrate their viability and identify any areas for improvement. To deliver a proof of concept we are designing a structural system in engineered mass-timber that works in accordance with different European legislation for residential, commercial, retrofit buildings, that is currently being built as demonstrator near Copenhagen, Denmark.
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North elevation of Build in Wood Copenhagen demonstrator
Our Build in Wood prototype is based on three pillars; designing for disassembly; the development of open-source design guides; and the dissemination and communication of these materials to industry stakeholders. Our applied research will contribute to a dynamic Design Guide, giving stakeholders an invaluable risk-reduction tool with complete information and certainty of technical, environmental, and economic aspects of these new mass-timber building systems. This will act as a recourse to encourage and ease the transition to a timber-first construction economy.
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South elevation of Build in Wood Copenhagen demonstrator
Build in Wood's holistic approach to transitioning to a timber-first construction economy considers its social, as well as environmental, impacts. It demonstrates how building in mass-timber works to improve the connection between rural and urban areas by using sustainable and renewable wood resources from the forest to construct the homes of the urban population and demonstrate the value of rural resources, creating jobs in the process. Build in Wood optimises flexibility, with the structure and façade systems designed to work in harmony and independently, fit for both new construction and retrofitting, which will in turn increase productivity in the building sector by increasing the use of wood as a building material for prefabricated building elements.
Build in Wood is a publicly funded initiative that brings together distinguished representatives from all parts of the construction and timber industries, to establish an innovative and sustainable European value chain for multi-storey wood buildings.