DETAIL English 6/2010

With its lower C02 level the old new wooden construction material is not only the object of much research, but will also win more meaning in its usage. The current issue shows wickerwork from thin  plywood panels, tiled slabs from plywood planks, grids made out of glue-laminated timber, pavilions made out of bamboo, and multi-story residential and council housing made out entirely of wood. Together with computer-supported planning and fabrication, not only efficient structures are created, but also architectural forms of expression that reinterpret the traditional material of wood. The examples vary from the innovative roof construction of the Centre Pompidou in Metz, France to the community centre in Vorarlberg, Austria made from local silver fir through to garden houses in Denmark. Finally, since the easing of fire protection laws, wood is also represents an interesting material for multi-storey buildings. Initial projects show how wood can bring us a step closer to the vision of the CO2 neutral »City of Wood«.