Loadbearing Structures from reclaimed wood - strategies, design parameters and reflections

It is a well-known fact that the building sector is one of the largest polluting and CO2 emision contributing sectors. In addition, what Nature has created over milenia as material resources is used up very fast with some materials already becoming scarce. The climate emergency we are facing calls for better and more sustainable approaches for the building sector.
This is the motivation and starting point for this paper that presents three different strategies for building loadbearing structures in wood. Through three full-scale prototypes we put forward strategies, design parameters and reflections about the opportunities and challenges of utilizing second-hand wood for loadbearing structures. The three projects all seek to investigate the viability of wood cascading, giving wood a longer life in its solid form by offering a load-bearing structural design that can be reused several times. Furthermore, The ReciPlyWood, Waste Wood Pavilion and the Wood ReFramed test different strategies for structural safety through robustness as well as simple connection systems. Optimising usability, buildability, and aesthetics and waying them out has been important in all three projects. The paper ends with a reflection of the process and results and points to steps needed for wood to be accepted as a multigenerational material for load-bearing structures.