Waugh Thistleton Architects

In 2022, Waugh Thistleton Architects participated in an Italian research study titled "Perceptions of Timber," which explored public and industry views on timber as a building material in dense urban environments. The research and engagement initiative were coordinated by EIT Climate-KIC, the European Union’s largest climate innovation initiative accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon world, with support from Politecnico di Milano, and based in and around the Milano Innovation District (MIND) complex.

Sponsored by Built by Nature and co-funded by Lendlease, the “Perceptions of Timber” project included over fifty workshops and activities organized by various stakeholders from across the timber value chain, designed to engage and explore public and industry opinion on building with timber. The project saw WTA, alongside collaborators at UCL, Stora Enso and Arup, running a series of engagement workshops with representatives of the construction industry, towards the production of a report on perceptions and the current state of the mass timber market in Italy.

A key outcome of the conference was the establishment of the first Italian Timber Living Lab, which tests timber building conditions in real-world settings, with the goal of demonstrating timber’s viability and encouraging its broader adoption throughout Italy. The initiative will use this physical prototype of a multistorey mass timber structure as the basis of engagement for a wide network of stakeholders. 

To develop our cities in a more sustainable manner, we will need to decarbonise concrete and steel and use more regenerative and renewable resources such as timber, as a key mitigation strategy to climate change in the construction sector. However, this requires an accelerated transformation of the paradigms governing the development, design, construction, operation, and end of life of buildings, especially for those countries, like Italy, where wood is not traditionally used.

The City of Milan, as vice chair of C40, is helping to lead the way and committing to zero carbon targets to reduce embodied carbon emissions from the construction industry. The Timber Perception Lab presents an opportunity to overcome the barriers related to limited knowledge and experience, as well as cultural acceptance, by involving stakeholders across the timber value chain. 

Evidence-based learning will be used to demonstrate timber’s social and economic feasibility in the Milanese context. The goal of project is to identify the key barriers to the widespread adoption of mass timber in Italy and to explore how industry players can collaboratively address these challenges, facilitating transformation through evidence, innovation, opportunities, inspiration, proof, and regulation.