After wood, steel dominated the architecture of the 19th century and concrete did so in the 20th century. The gifts gave endless possibilities, but what if we told you that wood can be the material of this century? Surely you are wondering: How is it possible that wood, a material that has always been present in buildings, now becomes the material that revolutionizes the 21st century?
Although it seems very hasty, in recent years, society has been (and continues to be) very determined to fight climate change. It is for this reason that the idea of recovering one of the oldest construction materials resonates more and more; why, together with current technology, it starts to lead sustainable architecture.
So why haven’t we used it before? Wood has always been characterized as a strong, clean, aesthetically beautiful, welcoming and versatile material. Thanks to current technology and the great advances that are made every day in all areas; wood is increasingly efficient and adaptable to today’s world.
Unlike other building components, wood is a renewable material.
This is because the processing involves much less energy than in other materials. In part it is due to the fact that it is a CO2-neutral composite material because trees absorb much more carbon dioxide during their life than is emitted from processing wood.
With current processes, wood can be as strong or even stronger than steel itself, while being much lighter. In addition, it installs much faster, speeding up the construction process, and has tactile and acoustic properties that help isolate noise and heat. But you may be wondering: can’t it burn more easily than the rest of the components? The answer is no. In fact, wood can be more resistant to fire than concrete and steel, since the wood used for architectural projects has an amount of humidity inside that slows the advance of this devastating element.
For this reason, each and every one of us has to start promoting this very old component to make it our present and the material that it will give us a future. Since wood is the future of sustainable architecture, of the Earth, and of humidity.
