Architects and engineers are working hard to push the limits of timber construction. Wood was once thought of as a material only for small buildings, but today it is capable of surprising us. Thanks to advanced technologies such as CLT (cross-laminated timber), timber structures are becoming strong, fire-resistant, and suitable even for high-rise construction.

Wood has enormous potential as a material to replace steel and concrete.

Wooden structures, for example, are easier to transport and install, which cuts time and labor costs on the construction site. The material's lightness and workability allow for shapes that would be difficult and costly to achieve with concrete.

According to researchers at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands, wood is an excellent choice for buildings up to 60 meters tall.

Beyond that height, the advantages of wood begin to diminish compared with traditional fossil-based building materials.

Carbon footprint and environmental benefits

The biggest advantage of wood in construction is its environmental friendliness. Concrete and steel production accounts for nearly one-third of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, whereas timber construction not only avoids adding CO₂ to the atmosphere, it actually “traps” it. Wood absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows, and that carbon stays locked in for as long as the wood is used as a building material. As a result, a single wooden building can offset the carbon footprint of several concrete or steel structures at once.

Growing and using wood takes far less energy than the extraction and production of traditional materials, which only strengthens wood's case as a sustainable choice.

Challenges still to be solved

• Fire resistance. Although wood can be made more fire-resistant, its behavior in a fire remains a serious concern, especially for high-rise buildings. For such projects, it is common to use layers of CLT that protect the inner wood components and provide a certain level of fire resistance. However, fire-safety standards for tall timber structures are still emerging, and each country is developing its own requirements.
• Weather and pest resistance. Moisture can be the enemy of wooden buildings, since prolonged exposure to water can cause rot. Protective coatings and regular maintenance solve this problem, but they add to operating costs. Wood can also attract insects, which calls for treatment with preservatives.
• Building codes and standards. Unlike steel and concrete, wood is only beginning to become the norm in high-rise construction, so many countries do not yet have strict standards for such structures. This holds back the development of tall timber buildings, because investors and developers cannot be entirely sure that they are safe.

How far can we go?

To date, there are already several tall wooden buildings that approach the height of traditional skyscrapers. For example, Mjøstårnet in Norway, an 18-story wooden building 85.4 meters tall, is considered the tallest wooden skyscraper in the world. And recent designs promise to go even further, showing that the limits are a matter of technology, not of the material itself.

What does the future hold?

In the future, timber construction could become the foundation of green cities. Because wood is renewable and easy to recycle, many cities are considering it as a key material for sustainable construction. As CLT and other technologies keep improving, wood can become even stronger and safer, making it possible to build ever taller and more complex structures.

Wood as a building material therefore holds enormous potential. It offers a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel, making it possible to build durable, stylish, and practical buildings that can form the foundation of the cities of the future.

An interesting technique: adding visual permeability to a façade not through separate elements, but by changing the way the boards are attached.

This chaotic, deliberate naivety, like a child reaching for a hammer the moment his parents look away, takes courage to pull off.

The boards shade the fully glazed volume of the façade and create a play of light, making the house look appealing from both outside and inside.

We recently published a post about glass bricks and glass blocks and how they're enjoying a new wave of popularity, including in exterior finishes.

Here's another impressive example of them used on a facade.

It's a restaurant called Artisans Ayutthaya in Bangkok.

It's a very unusual combination of wood and glass blocks. And the whole project actually started from unsold leftover blocks that had been written off as unsellable.

In place of "mortar," a steel frame holds the blocks together, and it's clad in wood on the outside.

This creates an interesting effect, with the color of the wood reflected in the glass gaps.

The technique itself is original and, it seems, still has no equivalent.

We recently published a post about glass bricks and glass blocks and how they're enjoying a new wave of popularity, including in exterior finishes.

Here's another impressive example of them used on a facade.

The Artisans Ayutthaya restaurant in Bangkok.

It's a very unusual combination of wood and glass blocks. And the whole project actually started from unsold leftover blocks that had been written off as unsellable.

In place of "mortar," a steel frame holds the blocks together, and it's clad in wood on the outside.

This creates an interesting effect, with the color of the wood reflected in the glass gaps.

The technique itself is original and, it seems, still has no equivalent.

A Dutch house built in 2007.

Even though it's almost 15 years old, it still looks current and fresh.

The lower part of the building is finished in dark brick, giving it a powerful, grounded, rugged look. The top floor, by contrast, is light — wood, with geometric patterns. Especially striking is the band of glass running around the entire perimeter, separating the floors and letting daylight into the house.

On the upper floor, in particular, the light is remarkable.

You'll also notice the corner window and the original shape of the roof.

The Moscow office of a company that builds glued-laminated timber houses. One part of the facade has a textured, three-dimensional structure, while the other is smooth, with a grid pattern — but no less appealing.

The main idea behind the facade — is to show the possibilities and relevance of wood in modern construction: the freedom to choose between traditional architecture and the realization of bold, innovative ideas.

One way to soften cold winters and hot summers is to plant a deciduous tree near the windows on the south side of the house.

A deciduous tree shields the interior from the sun's rays in summer and lets them right in during winter. Talk about bio-automation!

And trees do so much more: they shed their leaves in fall, bloom beautifully in spring, give off a scent, and even bear fruit in summer. In winter, a graphic pattern of trunk and branches appears in the window. Trees look especially good in large, oversized second-floor windows.

Norway maple, rowan, linden, plum, oak, willow — it's ideal when the tree is proportionate to the lot and the house, and the shape of its crown and where it's planted suit the façade.