The Renaissance of Wood

Wood has a long history as a building material, and for a while it seemed as if its final chapter ended during the 1950s. But things turned out differently. Today a true renaissance in ­timber construction is underway, and in many places it is ­finding expression in urban contexts. Wood buildings are appearing in ever-greater numbers, heights and typologies, from industrial buildings and museums to sports halls. Timber ­construction has long since liberated itself from the ­cliché of single-family countryside cottages. Thanks to new tech­nologies and methods, wood has become a popular building ­ma­terial – conserving resources and offering a promising future.

Given these circumstances, it made perfect sense to start off the new year with an issue dedicated to timber construction. The topic we address in our January / February issue has long interested us; in May the “Manual of Multistorey Timber Construction” will be published in English by Edition Detail. Our current issue is dedicated to further facets of timber construction. An essay by editor Jakob Schoof examines its prevalence and tradition in European cities as well as in Canada (page 24ff.). The technology feature (page 74ff.) provides insights into a research project investigating the processes involved in prefabricated timber construction. A total of seven project documentations, compiled by editor Heide Wessely (who oversaw the entire issue), show the construction details of timber construction projects currently underway in Japan, Chile and elsewhere.