Embraced Wood - Building with Unprocessed Reclaimed Timber
With the growing demand for timber as a building material, Embraced Wood expands the availability of wood in construction by establishing a computational and robotic workflow to create beams from unprocessed reclaimed timber using only clay and natural fibers. Methods to overcome material irregularities, size variations, and surface toxins allow for timber that would otherwise only be downcycled to serve a structural use with no reprocessing. 1:1 prototypes and structural testing conducted on samples prove design-specific span and loading performance. Embraced Wood offers a carbon-conscious design and fabrication process that is competitive to that of other timber systems and is suitable for building extensions as well as new multi-story timber construction. Considering reuse from the onset of design, the beam can be unwrapped to retrieve all materials separately for continuous use.
ITECH M.Sc. Thesis Project 2022: Embraced Wood - Building with Unprocessed Reclaimed Timber
Pelin Asa, Christelle El Feghali, Christian Steixner
Thesis Advisers: Hans-Jakob Wagner, Yasaman Tahouni
Thesis Supervisor: Prof. Achim Menges
Second Supervisor: Prof. Jan Knippers