New Directions in Wood Architecture

Text: Eszter Götz

Environmental awareness has become an increasingly important aspect of contemporary architecture. However, only a few clients are interested in the underlying environmental issues. It is difficult to get real information about the production processes of products that are claimed to be environmentally friendly. In addition to this, the latest regulations worldwide promote insulation, which means packing everything in. Building in a truly green way is more complex than it seems. One of the contemporary ways of ecological architecture is to build with timber, which, in addition to the timber frame structure, uses materials and technological systems that minimise its environmental impact and have a very favourable life-cycle performance. Below are three recent examples of the latest achievements in environmentally responsible timber architecture: the Dutch Natural Pavilion for the 2022 Floriade World Expo, the Moelven tower block in Norway and an industrial building in the Czech Republic.