The United Nations proclaimed 2011 the ‘International Year of Forests’. On this occasion, the Architecture Museum, together with the Department of Timber Construction of the Technical University of Munich, presented the technical, economic and design possibilities of the material in a large exhibition: Building with Wood – A path to the Future.
As a renewable raw material, wood is an ‘all-rounder’, the perfect balance between nature and technology: it delivers solar energy, carbon dioxide storage and is a universal construction material.
In the accompanying scientific publication, the ecological significance, the technological potential and the new aesthetics of the familiar building material were analysed by nine renowned specialist authors. Fifty selected international examples illustrate the new digital production methods and the architectural variety of modern wooden constructions, from the low-energy house to wide-span structures and high-rise construction.
The exhibition is designed to be illustrative. The visitors discover projects that are embedded into a huge spruce tree. The 52 projects presented can also be studied using architectural models, and all the different building materials that are obtained from wood –wood fibre up to OSB panels, are shown in a mosaic wall display. Right at the beginning of the exhibition the visitor is given fascinating figures that highlight the potential of the renewable building material.
Laura Weissmüller – Süddeutsche Newspaper