MainWood provides the scientific foundation for a major shift towards increasing the Swiss production and use of wood in construction.

WHY WOOD IN CONSTRUCTION?

Watch this 6 min explainer video about MainWood,
and explore why our project matters.

MAINWOOD

The MainWood project aims to support the scientific basis for transitions that reduce carbon emissions in the construction industry, and to promote wood as sustainable alternatives to concrete. We show how wood for construction lowers CO2 emissions compared to traditional building materials, how to increase the wood production, and we explore new ways to use wood that would otherwise be burned for energy production. MainWood systematically approaches scenarios across the wood supply chain, ranging from Business as Usual (BaU) to increased wood production or construction, identifying key leverage points, and addressing bottlenecks, both qualitatively and quantitatively.

FOCUS GROUPS

Featured

System Dynamics and Transitions

We map the entire supply chain system, and analyse the movement of resources and dependencies.

Prof. Dr. Jaboury Ghazoul
Ecosystem Management Group • ETH Zurich

Future forest management and climate modelling

We explore sustainable forest management and wood production practices and innovations in Switzerland.

Prof. Dr. Andreas Rigling, Prof. Dr. Verena Griess, Prof. Dr. Harald Bugmann

Low waste wood splitting technology

We develop a new wood composite material made of split wood, fit for structural building elements, existing of a wider variety of wood species, creating less waste, and using AI to optimise strength.

Prof. Dr. Ingo Burgert • EMPA
WoodTec Group

Laminated beams for taller and robuster buildings

We develop an improved version of glulam beams, that use less wood while increasing the structural of a wood construction.

Prof. Dr. Andrea Frangi • ETH Zurich
Timber Structures Group

Regenerating wood for non-load bearing elements

We develop water-resistant non-structural sheet material consisting of locally sourced and waste materials, that is water-resistant.

Prof. Dr. Guillaume Habert • ETH Zurich
Sustainable Construction Group

From local forest to architectural realisation

We develop a Computer Aided Design innovation that identifies wood specimens from the forest, and implement this directly in specific construction designs.

Prof. Dr. Yves Weinand • EPFL
Laboratory of Timber Construction IBOIS