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The construction industry is currently witnessing a global resurgence in the use of timber. This comes following a century that favoured new materials, notably iron and its improved counterpart steel, as well as concrete, which lead to novel architectural forms. It also saw the emergence of material science and the promotion of automation technology and fabrication techniques. Through the invention of laminated timber, wood has, since the 1960s, slowly been regaining a prominent position and risen as a modern construction material. This movement has been considerably growing against the backdrop of calls for more inclusive and holistic design approaches in the realm of an urgency for reducing carbon emissive materials.

The “re-discovery” of timber has coincided with the era commonly referred to as the "digital turn in architecture”[1] which has drastically transitioned timber manufactory. New fabrication techniques have indeed enabled new assembly processes as well as the material transformation of timber[2][3]. This development has also been widely welcomed by an audience concerned with circular building and reaching lower carbon footprint levels.

The upcoming seminar will shed light on the state of the art of timber construction. It will host both academics and professionals whose practices are contributing in innovating the field. The subjects covered will include but not be limited to:

  • A historical overview of timber construction

  • Digital fabrication novelties and their integration in the industry of timber building

  • Carbon footprint and life cycle assessment

  • The transformation of the timber supply chain

  • Design strategies to reduce the dependence on steel connections

[1] Carpo, M. (2013). The digital turn in architecture 1992-2012. Chichester: Wiley.

[2] De Rycke, Klaas & Tang, Gabriel & Chilton, J.C. (2017). Hermès Store, Rive Gauche Paris. Timber Gridshells, Architecture, Structure and Craft, Routledge.

[3] De Rycke, Klaas; Bohnenberger, Sascha; Weilandt, Agnes. (2011) Lattice Spaces: Form optimisation through customization of non developable 3d wood surfaces. RESPECTING FRAGILE PLACES [29th eCAADe Conference Proceedings / ISBN 978-9-4912070-1-3], University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Architecture (Slovenia) 21-24 September 2011, pp.751-758

Follow all lectures on Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/4793485633

ID de réunion : 479 348 5633

Biographies

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ELIAS GUENOUN
Founder and head architect at Elias Guenoun Architecture, Paris

Architecte et auteur du livre 198 Wood Joints, publié chez Architectural Notes.

https://www.eliasguenoun.eu/

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FRANÇOIS AUGER

Founder and head architect at François Auger Architecte, Paris

Compagnon charpentier du devoir, architecte du patrimoine, conseiller technique charpente, au sein de l’équipe de la maîtrise d’œuvre qui a en charge la restauration de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.

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EVY SLABBINCK

Assistant Manager / Timber consultant at Design-to-Production, Zurich

Evy L. M. Slabbinck is a structural engineer and architect working at Design-to-Production Zurich, and is besides filling the role as Assistant Manager, responsible for International Sales, Project Development and Timber Consultancy. She is currently also teaching Structural Design at the Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences. She started her research under supervision of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jan Knippers in September 2015 as part of the Innochain PhD research network.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Evy-Slabbinck-2
https://www.designtoproduction.com/
 

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PHILIPPE RIZZOTTI

Founder and head architect at Philippe Rizzotti Architecte, Paris. Senior Lecturer at ENSAP-Lille. PhD candidate at ENSA-Versailles

Philippe Rizzotti crée son agence en 2010 après 6 ans d'expérimentation au sein du collectif Exyzt qui réalisa le pavillon français de la Biennale de Venise en 2006 avec Patrick Bouchain. Lauréat du prix Holcim Awards en 2011, des AJAP en 2012 et des 40 Under 40 en 2018, Philippe Rizzotti Architecte réalise des projets d’équipements publics dans le domaine des arts et des sciences, notamment les serres botaniques pour Jardin des Sciences à Besançon ou la Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie à Paris.  Commissaire scientifique de l’exposition L’Empreinte d’un habitat (Pavillon de l’Arsenal, 2021), Philippe est aussi maître de conférence à l’École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture et de Paysage de Lille et chercheur au laboratoire LéaV de l’École d’Architecture de Versailles.
http://www.philipperizzotti.net/fr/

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VICTOR FRÉCHARD

PhD candidate and lecturer at ENSA-Nancy

After graduating in Civil Engineering, and completing a postgraduate program “Architecture, Wood and Construction”, Victor Fréchard continued his studies as a PhD student investigating Wood and Fiber Sciences at two research laboratories: LERMAB at ENSTIB in Epinal, and at MAP-CRAI at ENSA Nancy.

His research aim is development and implementation of novel methods and tools for parametric design and digital manufacturing of timber architecture. The application of Stratoconception® additive manufacturing process frames the research proposal of a method adapted to support the process from design to manufacturing and establishes the bases of his thesis research.

http://doctorat.univ-lorraine.fr/fr/etre-doctorant/annuaire/frechard-victor

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PAUL BESANÇON

Paul Besançon is a student at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Versailles in his second year of a Master's degree. He is interested in wood, from its resources to its manufacture. Fascinated by wood and forests, he submitted a thesis in 2022 on the reconsideration of forest resources in architecture. He also assists Victor Fréchard in his thesis on Stratoconception® at the MAP-CRAI laboratory in Nancy.

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JULIEN MEHA

Carpenter and Managing Director at MEHA Construction

Julien Meha is a graduate of the Ecole Supérieure du Bois de Nantes. Born into a family of carpenters, Julien Meha is the manager of the MEHA Construction company, which he modernises by integrating new technological processes for the manufacture of wood. He also participated in the creation of Maître Cube, the first wood construction operator in France, as well as Wall Up Préfa, an innovator in hemp concrete.

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PROF. STÉPHANE BERTHIER

Professor and researcher at ENSA-Versailles. Founder and head architect at MESOSTUDIO, Paris

Stéphane Berthier is a graduate architect from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and holds a doctorate in architecture from the Université de Paris-Saclay. He is a lecturer at the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Versailles, in the field of Science and Technology.
His research focuses on architecture as a medium for experimenting with technical innovations, particularly in the wood sector, a subject on which he has published numerous articles in French and foreign journals. As a member of the ENSA Versailles laboratory (LEAV), he directs the "Experimental materials" research axis, whose field of investigation is experimental development in project situations. He is also a founding partner of the MESOSTUDIO architectural firm, which designs contemporary wood architecture in the Paris region.

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PHILIPP REINSBERG

Institute of Architecture and Institute of Art Sciences and Art Education at the University of Applied Arts Vienna

Philipp Reinsberg is an architect, carpenter and researcher. He regularly designs and develops social interventions and experimental wooden structures. Since 2016, he is working as a consultant and expert for design, craft and technology with wood for the United Nations Industrial Development Organizations (UNIDO) on international projects. He is also teaching analogue and digital fabrication at the Institute of Art Sciences and Art Education (DAE/DEX), University of Applied Arts Vienna.

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LUKAS ALLNER

Institute of Architecture and Institute of Art Sciences and Art Education at the University of Applied Arts Vienna

Lukas Allner is an architect and researcher with focusing on the inventive potential of the interplay between material conditions and conceptual thinking in architecture. Currently he is teaching at the University of Applied Arts Vienna and at the University of Innsbruck with an interest in interpretation techniques for architectural design and a focus on experimental building construction and Circular Design. 

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PROF. OLIVER TESSMANN

Professor and Head of the Digital Design Unit (DDU) at the Technische University of Darmstadt.

Oliver Tessmann is an architect and professor at the Technical University of Darmstadt where he is heading the Digital Design Unit (DDU). His teaching and research revolves around computational design, digital manufacturing and robotics in architecture. From 2012 – 2015 he has been assistant professor in the School of Architecture of the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. From 2008 – 2011 he has been a guest professor at Staedelschule Architecture Class (SAC) and worked with the engineering office Bollinger + Grohmann in Frankfurt. In 2008 Oliver Tessmann received a doctoral degree at the University of Kassel. He conducted research in the field of "Collaborative Design Procedures for Architects and Engineers". His work has been published and exhibited in Europe, Asia and the US.

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