Architects and engineers are actively working to push the limits of timber construction, and while wood was once considered a material only for small buildings, it is now capable of surprising. Thanks to advanced technologies such as CLT (cross-laminated timber), timber structures are becoming strong, fire-resistant and applicable even for high-rise construction.

The potential of wood as a material to replace steel and concrete is enormous.

For example, wooden structures are easier to transport and install, which reduces time and labor costs on the construction site. The material's lightness and malleability allow for the creation of molds that would be difficult and costly with concrete.

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

After this height, the benefits of wood start to diminish compared to 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 is nearly one-third of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, while wood construction, on the other hand, not only does not add CO₂ to the atmosphere, it “traps” it. Wood absorbs carbon dioxide as it grows, and it stays there 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 requires far less energy than the extraction and production of traditional materials, doubly reinforcing wood's position as a sustainable choice.

Challenges yet to be solved

• Fire resistance. Although wood can be made more resistant to fire, its behavior in fire remains a serious problem, especially for high-rise buildings. For such projects, it is common to use layers of CLT that protect the internal 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. Humidity can be the enemy of wooden buildings, as prolonged exposure to water can lead to rotting. Applying protective coatings and regular maintenance solves this problem, but it adds to the cost of operation. Wood can also attract insects, which requires antiseptic treatment.
• Building codes and standards. Unlike steel and concrete, wood is just beginning to become the norm in high-rise construction, so many countries do not yet have strict standards for such structures. This hinders the development of wooden high-rise construction, as investors and developers cannot be completely sure that such buildings are safe.

How far can we go?

На сегодняшний день уже существует несколько высоких деревянных зданий, которые по своей высоте 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 with a height of 85.4 meters, is considered the tallest wooden skyscraper in the world. And recent designs promise to go even further, showing that limitations are a matter of technology, not material.

What does the future hold?

In the future, timber construction could be the basis for green cities. Due to the renewability and easy recyclability of wood, many cities are considering it as a key material for sustainable construction. As CLT and other technologies continue to improve, wood can become even stronger and safer, enabling ever higher and more complex structures to be built.

Wood as a building material thus has enormous potential. It offers a sustainable alternative to concrete and steel, making it possible to build sustainable, stylish and practical buildings that can form the basis for the cities of the future.

An interesting technique, how to add visual permeability to the façade not by individual elements, but by changing the way the boards are attached.

This chaotic, deliberate naivety, as if it were a child reaching for a hammer while his parents can't see, requires courage to implement.

The boards serve to shade the fully glazed volume of the facade and provide a play of light, making the house look attractive from the outside and inside.

Recently we wrote a post about glass bricks and glass blocks and how they are experiencing a new round of popularity, including their use in exterior finishes.

Here's another impressive example of their use on the facade.

A restaurant called Artisans Ayutthaya in Bangkok.

Here is a very unusual combination of wood and glass blocks. And it was from unsold remnants of the blocks, which were considered unmarketable, that this project began

As the "mortar" of fixing the blocks is a steel frame, which is covered with wood from the outside.

This gives an interesting effect, where the color of the wood is reflected in the glass gaps.

The technology itself is original and seems to have no analogues yet.

Недавно мы писали заметку о стеклянных кирпичах и стеклоблоках, о том как они переживают новый виток популярности, в том числе в использовании во внешней отделке.

Вот еще один впечатляющий пример их применения на фасаде.

Здание ресторана Artisans Ayutthaya в Бангкоке.

Здесь очень необычное сочетание дерева и стеклоблоков. Причем именно с нераспроданных остатков блоков, признанных неликвидом, начался этот проект.

В качестве “раствора” скрепляющего блоки выступает стальной каркас, который и закрыт снаружи деревом.

Это дает интересный эффект, когда цвет дерева отражается в стеклянных промежутках.

Сама технология оригинальна и кажется еще не имеет аналогов.

A Dutch house built in 2007.

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

The bottom of the building is finished with dark-colored brick, which creates a powerful, stable, rough look. The top floor, by contrast, is light, in wood, with geometric patterns. Particularly interesting is the band of glass around the entire perimeter, dividing the floors and allowing daylight to enter the house.

In the upper floor, on the other hand, the light is very striking.

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

Moscow office of a company that builds houses of glued beam. One part of the facade has a textured, three-dimensional structure, the other part is smooth, with a grid pattern, but no less attractive.

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

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

The deciduous species of tree protects the interior from the sun's rays in summer while completely letting them in in winter. So much for bio-automatics!

And the trees also change their leaves in fall, bloom brilliantly in spring, smell and even produce fruit in summer. And in winter, a graphic pattern of trunk and branches appears in the window. The trees look especially good in large and huge second-story windows.

Clear maple, rowan, linden, plum, oak, willow - ideal when the tree is proportionate to the plot and the house, and the shape of the crown and planting location fits the facade.