Reducing the carbon footprint of the construction sector is a major issue, one that the use of wood as a building material can address. A workshop led by Luxinnovation shed light on the topic.
Jean-Michel Gaudron
In a general context of climate change, the construction sector is at the forefront of finding solutions to reduce its carbon footprint. Between 30% to 40% of CO₂ emissions worldwide come from this major economic sector.
What if the future is in wood? This material, which is natural, renewable and recyclable, offers major advantages in the transition to sustainable construction. By storing carbon throughout its lifetime, it helps to limit greenhouse gases, while meeting the performance and comfort requirements of modern buildings.
However, the potential of wood remains under-exploited, especially in the face of strict regulations, a still limited local supply and strong competition from traditional materials. Developing a robust local timber industry is therefore essential to maximise its environmental and economic benefits.
This is the whole objective of the Interreg W.A.V.E. (Wood Added Value Enablers) project, which is supported by the Interreg Greater Region 2021-2027 programme. This project aims to support the development of an efficient regional wood industry through the strengthening of the value chain.
Some remarkable constructions of multi-storey tertiary buildings, including this wood component, have emerged from the ground in Luxembourg. One example is the "Allegra" complex in Leudelange, in which the construction company CDCL has set up its new headquarters. It is the first building in Luxembourg to be built in a hybrid concrete-wood prefabricated modular structure, according to the Austrian CREE system.
The "Wooden" building, also in Leudelange, is a massive structure of almost 10,000 m2, making it the largest wooden-frame office building in the country. It is also supported by a prefabricated wood-concrete load-bearing structure.
These two full-scale examples served as examples during a recent event organised by the Luxembourg Wood Cluster, managed by Luxinnovation, as part of the W.A.V.E. project, in partnership with its Belgian and German partners.
An expert workshop was proposed on the theme of "Wood-steel and wood-concrete composite systems" and brought together some 75 participants, with the support of the Luxembourg Ministry of the Economy and Neobuild. "It is important to give engineers, planners, developers and operators, as well as companies in the timber industry, concrete information about innovative construction technologies. They were able to gain a deeper insight into these innovative projects, but also to expand their industrial network," explains Ralf Köhler, the manager of the Luxembourg Wood Cluster.
The advantages and challenges of such a systemic construction were highlighted during a round table moderated by specialists from the University of Luxembourg (Prof. Dr.-Ing. Christoph Odenbreit, Chair of Steel and Composite Construction at the University of Luxembourg and Teodora Bogdan, researcher) and in which well-known personalities from the sustainable construction industry participated. The discussions highlighted the technological and planning aspects of wood composite construction.
Our ambition is to support technological developments in the construction of wood-based structures.
Ralf Köhler, Luxinnovation
The balance between CO2 emissions and economic considerations, environmental and social management issues, wood recyclability and challenges in the planning and approval process in the context of cross-border cooperation were among the key topics discussed.
"The discussions were very fruitful and marked the beginning of a systemic activity within the Interreg W.A.V.E. project," says Ralf Köhler. "Our ambition is to support technological developments in the construction of wood-based structures, with a focus on material and cost rationalisation effects, as well as the further development of already existing innovations for the production and use of composite wood materials; wood-steel and wood-concrete in static timber construction."
