Build trees

Abstract

This conference was held in a lodge in the "New Forest". This is an ideal environment to make the conference participants aware of the topic, addressing wood as nature's most direct and oldest building product, which has the greatest potential for helping the world into a postfossil future. Although wood is the most organic material, when it comes to public appreciation as a building material, it is not ranked highly. The author will question and answer how architecture technologically and aestetically can treat wood as an "up-to-date" and "state of the art (and architecture)" building material truly belonging to today's world. The author will show by means of students', colleagues' and personal work, how wood can create a sustainable architectural space and form evoking respect and appreciation from all human senses. Both practicing in Hannover, Germany and teaching in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA, the author will introduce in his paper the intercultural approach to wood research in natural building design. Work in progress and widely published built projects will illustrate the strategies for improving the environment with wood. The author's recent experience with the new TMT (Thermal Modification Technology) and the results of his participation in the 4 European Thermowood conference in February 2006 in Leipzig, Germany will be shared with the conference participants. The paper presentation will point out the challenges and potential of rethinking and reinventing wood as the building material for a future related to postfossil nature.