As a renewable and often local material, wood and bamboo are top contenders for low carbon buildings that consider a sustainable future. The works below explore some designs that employ these materials, by architects from around the globe pushing the material to some interesting possibilities.
Knarvik Community Church, Knarvik, Norway, 2014. Photo: Hundven-Clements Photography
Nestled in the Norwegian wilderness, this dramatic angular church by Reiulf Ramstad Architects was constructed with mottled pine heartwood, which comes from the center of a branch or trunk and is known for its durability.
Fireplace for Children, Trondheim, Norway, 2010. Photo: Jason Havneraas
The Oslo-based firm Haugen/Zohar Arkitekter built this wooden, igloo-like construct with materials left over from a nearby construction site in the Norwegian city of Trondheim. Intended as an intimate gathering place for fireside storytelling, the project was conceived to create a fun environment for local children.
Office Off, Burgenland, Austria, 2013. Photo: Paul Ott
The Vienna-based practice heri & salli got creative with this office building, which unsurprisingly is the HQ of a cladding company. The timber grid that wraps around the structure conveniently doubles as an abseiling tower.
Timber House, Newmarket in der Oberpfalz, Germany, 2014. Photo: Erich Spahn
Composed of two barn-like structures joined in the middle, this private home in Newmarket was conceived by Kühnlein Architektur. The entirety of the exterior is covered in untreated larch strips (that will weather to a silvery gray), concealing the home’s windows from the outside while letting daylight through to the inside.
Volga House, Tverskaya, Russia, 2009. Photo: Alexey Knyazev
This boxy country house on the banks of the Volga river is clad in wood panels that are angled in seven distinct ways. The Russian architect Peter Kostelov wanted to interpret Soviet era dachas (country houses) in a contemporary way by nodding to the slightly piecemeal sensibility of those historic homes.
Mae Sot Dormitories, Bangkok, Thailand, 2012. Photo: Franc Pallarès López
These low-cost temporary dormitories are part of the Mae Tao Clinic, which offers healthcare and education to refugees of the civil war in neighboring Myanmar. Designed by Thai a.gor.a Architects, the buildings, which house 25 people, are made from locally sourced bamboo, thatch, and recycled timber.
Barn B at Mason Lane Farm, Goshen, KY, USA, 2009. Photo: Roberto de Leon
This striking large-scale shed was designed by the Louisville-based De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop. Crafted from locally grown bamboo, the structure is used for seasonal crop storage, and the airy construction allows for plenty of natural ventilation, which is required to dry hay.
Liyuan Library, Beijing, China, 2011. Photo: Li Xiaodong
This library’s unusual twig cladding was inspired by bundles of firewood that the Chinese architect Li Xiaodong noticed during early visits to the site in the countryside near Beijing. The sticks, sourced from local fruit trees, are aligned to allow sunlight to filter through to the interior.
GC Prostho Museum Research Center, Kasugai, Japan, 2010. Photo: Daici Ano
Inspired by the traditional Japanese chidori toy (a grid of wooden sticks whose joints can be released with just a twist), this three-story gallery and research center for a Japanese dental prosthetics company is created with a lattice of square beams and columns made of cypress and zelkova.
Landesgartenschau Exhibition Hall, Stuttgart, Germany, 2014. Photo: ICD/ITKE/IIGS University of Stuttgart
Researchers at the University of Stuttgart designed and constructed this freestanding exhibition hall using robotically fabricated beech plywood plates, each only two inches thick. A prototype for a locally sourced, robot-built timber structure, the project explores new design capabilities of wood in combination with advanced building technologies.
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