Samenvatting

In the research and design studio ‘World of wood’ from September to December 2021, we dealt with the global production chain behind wood. In other words: we challenged students to not only see this renewable and bio-based material as a raw material or construction material with which architectural and urban design issues could be solved, but as a component of a planetary system that could be improved in a considerable number of areas.

The use and the application of (more) wood could make an important contribution to the shift towards a sustainable and future-proof development of our living environment and products – and then not only as a construction material for furniture, houses and cities, but also as an alternative to glass, steel, oil, plastic and other derivatives of fossil raw materials. By increasing the use and application of wood worldwide a major step could be taken in reducing the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere, not only because lots of carbon is released with the production of other materials (such as steel and concrete, but above all because trees and forests absorb a lot of CO2 and carbon is even stored long-term in wood.

If we want to utilise the many advantages that wood offers as effectively as possible, it is necessary to understand the planetary system behind this versatile material, so that the new generation of architects, urbanists and landscape architects are not only able to design sustainable and healthy homes, districts and cities (made from wood) soon, but also to make proposals to increase the sustainability of and strengthen the most crucial components in the (international) wood chain. It is only in this way that we will arrive at prudent and groundbreaking recommendations on how timber construction can truly lead to successes, and what is necessary in order to make the system behind it fair, sustainable and future-proof. On a global scale, but certainly in the case of the Netherlands too, which tasks do we need to undertake and which spatial and landscape consequences will this have?