WOODSTOCK – Wood for a Climate-Smart and Circular Future of Construction
Popular science summary
WoodStock is an international research and innovation project funded by Horizon Europe that aims to increase the use of wood – particularly under-utilized, low-quality, damaged and post-consumer wood – in sustainable and circular construction.
The project addresses one of the major challenges facing the construction sector today: how to reduce its climate impact while making better use of available resources. WoodStock brings together research on wood resources, material flow analysis, life-cycle assessment and carbon storage with architectural design, digital technologies and collaboration with citizens, architects, industry and public authorities.
Project objective
The overall objective of WoodStock is to develop climate-smart, circular and zero-waste solutions and strategies for increased use of wood in construction, with a particular focus on currently under-utilized wood resources. The project combines material flow analysis, carbon accounting, dynamic life-cycle assessment, circular design and participatory approaches to develop new products, building elements and building concepts.
Project partners
The WoodStock consortium consists of 13 partners from eight European countries: Belgium, Norway, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Poland, Finland, France and Ireland. The consortium includes Universiteit Gent as coordinator, NIBIO, InnoRenew CoE, TU Delft, Aalto University, Université de Bordeaux, NTNU, WETA BV, University of Galway, Lodz University of Technology, Innovawood, CEI-Bois and University of Primorska. The partners combine expertise in architecture, engineering, wood science, forestry, life-cycle assessment, policy, business, social sciences and digital technologies.
Role of Lodz University of Technology
Lodz University of Technology (TUL) leads Work Package 7, “Design of zero-waste building blueprints”. The work package translates the technical and material solutions developed within the project into architectural concepts and building designs for new construction, renovation, adaptive reuse and urban regeneration.
TUL also hosts a Living Lab at the Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning, focusing on the adaptive reuse of existing buildings using wood-based materials and on the application of multi-storey timber structures as infill within existing urban fabric. Approximately 180 architecture students will participate in recurring design projects, developing skills and knowledge in zero-waste and circular building design.
TUL is responsible for several key project results, including the WoodBook, the catalogue of zero-waste solutions, zero-waste building designs, and a related policy brief. TUL will also explore the use of BIM, digital twins and augmented reality (AR) to evaluate and communicate building designs and to facilitate participatory engagement with different stakeholder groups.
Expected impact
WoodStock aims to contribute to the transformation of the European construction sector towards a low-carbon and circular economy. Reusing wood, designing buildings and components for disassembly, repair and reuse, and extending their service life can reduce resource consumption and construction-related emissions while increasing the amount of carbon stored in the built environment.
The project’s results will be relevant to building renovation and adaptive reuse, multi-storey timber construction, new building design, the reuse of materials from existing buildings, and architectural education. WoodStock aims to develop more than 50 building concepts and designs, while the WoodBook is expected to contain more than 80 examples of building elements and solutions.
Project funding
The total value of the WoodStock project is EUR 6,861,253.27, of which EUR 446,501.25 is allocated to Lodz University of Technology. The project has a duration of 48 months and is funded under Horizon Europe, HORIZON-CL6-2024-CLIMATE-01.