Category Archives: Wood, Paper & Green Building

The global woodworking press gathered in Hanover for the media launch of this year’s Ligna exhibition – the world’s largest woodworking technology fair. The official Ligna Press Preview event, held at Hannover Messe on February 20 and attended by TTJ, saw Ligna organiser Deutsche Messe reveal that more than 1,200 exhibitors from all over the world will occupy around 112,000m2 of exhibition space in May, sending a strong signal in a challenging industry situation. The event on May 26-30 will be the 50th anniversary of Ligna. Ligna, which attracts around 100,000 people every two years, showcases technologies from across the woodworking spectrum – from forestry to sawmilling, timber product processing, panel production equipment, furniture machinery and surfacing.

A Hawke’s Bay trial to convert leftover forestry wood into roading material for logging trucks to travel over is showing promising results. Managing woody debris left after harvesting is a common challenge in forestry. …Transporting it out of the forest is costly, while leaving it piled on landings poses environmental risks during severe weather events. With funding from Forest Growers Research (FGR), Pan Pac and FGR have been trialling a promising solution – using it as roading material. …Compared to metal roads, shredded wood roads offer the environmental advantage of repurposing waste wood while reducing traditional roading material transport distances, thereby lowering the carbon footprint. …The results so far indicate that shred wood roads could be a viable alternative to metal roads, where the grade is not too steep in wet conditions.

Humans have been building with wood for thousands of years, but the last few decades have seen a renaissance in timber construction with the rise of mass timber. Products like cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated timber (GLT) have exploded in popularity recently with ever larger and more elaborate buildings completed. Australia has been punching above its weight on a global stage with several landmark examples attracting worldwide acclaim… Many projects delivered so far have been relatively “purist” buildings with most components made from mass timber but products are becoming normalised to a point where we can pick the right material for the right job. Timber is an incredibly capable material, but can be limited in some applications, so often a hybrid approach is a better way to get timber into more projects.

Mika Sipponen

Researchers at Stockholm University have developed a fully biobased hair conditioner using lignin gel emulsions, offering a sustainable and environmentally friendly alternative to conventional haircare products. Hair conditioners typically contain 20–30 ingredients, many derived from petroleum and oleochemicals, raising concerns about sustainability and environmental impact. A new study published in Science Advances, demonstrates that micellar lignin gels can effectively stabilize emulsions with natural oils, reducing the need for synthetic surfactants and complex stabilizers commonly used in commercial formulations. The research team, led by Mika Sipponen at Stockholm University, sought to explore lignin, a common and renewable component in wood biomass, as a multifunctional component for hair conditioning. “By using wood-derived lignin directly without any chemical modification, we not only simplify the ingredient list but also eliminate the need for organic solvents, making the process more eco-friendly,” said Sipponen.

In a recent article published in Advanced Sustainable Systems, researchers developed an all-natural alternative to plastic straws using a top-down molecular welding approach. This straw is made from de-lignified natural wood infused with chitosan, resulting in a flexible, moldable material that can be shaped as needed.​​​​​​​ Plastic straws are widely used consumer products, prompting significant efforts to develop biodegradable alternatives to replace petroleum-based plastics. However, existing options like polylactic acid and paper straws come with notable drawbacks, making them less-than-ideal substitutes. To effectively replace plastic straws, there is an urgent need for biodegradable, environmentally friendly materials that offer both mechanical durability and water resistance. …Overall, the researchers successfully prepared microplastic-free, ultra-strong, hydro-stable, and biodegradable all-natural bendable straws through a top-down method using earth-abundant natural wood and edible chitosan.

A 13-storey high-rise approved for development in Sydney is slated to become the tallest commercial mass timber building in New South Wales. The building has been designed by architecture and urban design practice Tzannes for property developer NGI Investments. …The weight of the building was a significant consideration during the design process. The structure needed to be lightweight as the site is located above subterranean railway tunnels. Tzannes’s approach for addressing has involved transferring the load from the building’s western side to a central core using a hybrid concrete and steel structure. This system then supports 12 timber commercial floors, with 11 levels rising above the load transfer structure and one suspended below. According to a communique issued by Tzannes, “all timber and steel elements will be crafted for future disassembly and reuse.”

A designer and former technology scout, PaperShell cofounder and CEO Anders Breitholtz sought to unlock solutions for steering the design industry toward a circular economy. …Following some exploration with advisory service Material ConneXion, Breitholtz teamed up with fellow PaperShell cofounder Mathieu Gustafsson in 2018 to begin tests on a new paper alternative. PaperShell’s material possesses a superior strength to wood through intensive compression molding that merges and cross-links paper fibers and bio-resin. The process reintegrates hemicellulose into the substrate to create a dry prepreg that is then cut into blanks and stacked under a large steel press for shaping and trimming. Production waste is turned into biochar as well, setting the basis for a circular economy. “You get a component which is 100 percent biogenic. There’s no fossil carbon inside. It’s just natural materials,” Breitholtz says. “By pressing it really, really hard the paper sheets become a homogeneous material.” 

BRISBANE, Australia — A new Gabba, built right across the road from the old cricket ground, could break records as the world’s largest timber stadium. Architecture firm Kirk Studio’s proposal appeals to the 2032 International Olympic Committee’s sustainability strategy by using renewable construction material. The result would be a 60,000-seat “Gabba West” stadium across Main Street from the existing Gabba. …Speaking to this masthead, architect Richard Kirk said using timber would make Gabba West one of the most environmentally friendly stadiums in the world. “The commitment made in the bid for the Olympics is that it would be six-star Green Star, and a core part of that is we should be replacing up to 40% of the structure with renewable materials,” he said. “And the only renewable building material is timber.” …Using timber would also reduce the stadium’s weight – allowing it to sit more easily above both the Cross River Rail and Clem7 tunnels.

Unveiling its new design, the Indore Nagar Parishad Assembly Hall in India illustrates a thoughtful approach to modern civic interior design through the use of western hemlock – blending aesthetics, functionality, and environmental consciousness. …Recognizing the various benefits of wood and its aesthetic appeal, Ar. Puneet Pandey of VIMA sought a material that could contribute to the intended atmosphere of the space, particularly by incorporating natural elements which can reduce stress and improve cognitive performance through biophilic design principles. The hall needed to be more than just a meeting space; it needed to be aesthetically appealing and contribute to the overall environment, maintaining the sanctity of its purpose. Having established a prior relationship with FII India through trade events and educational seminars, Ar. Puneet Pandey sought the expertise of the FII India team to assist with material selection and project implementation.

Architecture studio PPAA has unveiled the first building in the country with a structure constructed predominantly of mass timber, claiming it is a “milestone in Mexican architecture”. Located in an industrial complex in Querétaro, Mexico, the building has a structure made almost completely from engineered wood products, prefabricated and assembled on-site, with only the stairwells made of metal. PPAA founder Pablo Pérez Palacios told Dezeen that he chose mass timber for its sustainability, reduced labour costs and the speed of construction, though he noted that mass timber is currently more expensive in Mexico than other common building materials such as steel or concrete… The facade was made from polycarbonate sheets called Danpal, which were chosen to increase the project’s light diffusion, weather resistance and energy efficiency.