Why choose it.
Wood is one of the very few building materials that are renewable and biodegradable. That, in life cycle of materials, is a very positive and assertive route, it preserves land, and can be cultivated, harvested and developed multiple times, (depending on the handling that is carried out), which makes it sustainable by definition.
Then, at carbon footprint, the forest fixes carbon as it grows, it also generates shade, collects water, and promotes biodiversity, and the wood once harvested, continues to fix the carbon already installed.
And at the level of health of the user, wood is a good insulator, it is porous (breathes), and is alive, which is felt in its smell and presence, which makes it physically and spiritually stimulating.
Wood problems: as it is alive, it discolors with the sun (which is no worse than a wrinkle on the face), it absorbs moisture from the environment (and swells), and fungi and termites look for it as food or fixing substrate. This reality has existed for millennia, and that has not prevented working with it, it just must be designed in a way that is protected from water and the sun, and it must be monitored to know if it needs help (hydration, or additional chemical protection for example).
What problems or obstacles must be faced to use wood in construction: prejudices, there are myths that wood requires a lot of maintenance and is dangerous in case of fire, however, any construction material requires care, maintenance, and fires are predicted in any construction, since the finishes and furniture are the elements that usually set fire, and not the structure.
What can be an obstacle to overcome is to find the experience and knowledge in its use and construction; know how to design correctly with wood, be able to calculate its structure, know the correct type of wood, understand how to finish it, and give it the image sought.
Everything is perfectly possible, and they are disciplines that man has been cultivating for a long time throughout history, the only thing that is required is knowledge and disposition. The myth that it is slower or more complicated is not real, unless it is in inexperienced hands; for example, today, wood can be “engineered”, that means, it has been industrialized, its growth, sawing, drying and installation has been optimized, it is possible to laminate it (to achieve wood sections from glued pieces), its performance is optimized and standardized, as well as its cutting and assembly.
We can find prefabricated systems, very fast construction, automated cutting or bending, the technologies are increasingly precise, they allow us incredible shapes, and facilitate labor and ensure performance.
We are living in a time that requires environmental awareness, and designing with wood is an interesting and attractive challenge for new projects, and a beautiful challenge for architects.
