{"id":1597,"date":"2021-01-25T16:27:03","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T16:27:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/horizon.peachpuff-wolverine-566518.hostingersite.com\/?p=1597"},"modified":"2021-01-25T16:27:03","modified_gmt":"2021-01-25T16:27:03","slug":"they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/","title":{"rendered":"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

Four storeys high and made almost entirely of wood, the ZEB Lab building in Trondheim, Norway, had, even before it existed, sucked as much carbon from the atmosphere as it would probably produce in construction. Now, thanks to its arboreal origins, as well as to the sleek expanse of solar panels on its roof and to other energy efficiency measures, it is a carbon-negative building. In other words, from birth to demise, it will have drawn down more carbon than it emitted.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

There are various ways to store excess carbon dioxide. \u2018One way is to have it hidden in buildings,\u2019 says Tero Hasu, a project manager at Kouvola Innovation, a municipally owned development company of the City of Kouvola in Finland. The ZEB (zero emission building) Lab achieves this by using wood for almost everything \u2013 from beams to pillars and staircases. Concrete is to be found only in the foundations and the ground floor.<\/p>\n

But while exciting wooden structures are springing up across the world \u2013 including fancy wooden skyscrapers from\u00a0Norway<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0Milwaukee<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0US \u2013 they remain the exception in most countries. Researchers now believe there\u2019s an urgent need to shift gear and make construction from wood mainstream.<\/p>\n

\u2018Every building that goes over four storeys, or even lower, is a research or demonstration project,\u2019 observed Dr Niels Morsing, director of wood and biomaterials at the Danish Technological Institute in Copenhagen. \u2018There\u2019s a lot of effort going into proving performance. It\u2019s one of the barriers that we don\u2019t have \u201cpre-accepted\u201d solutions.\u2019<\/p>\n

Climate solution<\/strong><\/p>\n

Advocates say building in wood, if it went mainstream, could house a growing population and provide a dramatic climate solution. Over the next four decades, nearly 230 billion square metres of new construction will be needed to support the world\u2019s increasingly dense cities, according to the United Nations Environment Programme\u2019s\u00a02017 Global Status Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As trees grow, they sequester carbon \u2013 about one tonne of CO2 for every cubic metre of wood. While carbon is emitted in processing the wood, the production of concrete is notoriously carbon-intensive. Just the chemical reaction that produces a tonne of cement releases about half a tonne of CO2. Provided the trees come from sustainable forests – so they are replaced when chopped down – and as long as the wood is recycled at the end of a building\u2019s life, it could be a powerful solution.<\/p>\n

Yet it is thought that well under\u00a010% of construction in Europe<\/a>\u00a0is of wood. Researchers in Finland recently calculated that, if the percentage of wooden buildings in Europe increased steadily from 10% in 2020 to 80% in 2040, and if these buildings contained more wooden components than before (such as beams, floors, ceilings and cladding) then a total of\u00a00.42 gigatonnes<\/a>\u00a0of carbon could be stored over the 20-year period.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Wooden components such as beams, floors, ceilings and cladding in buildings can help increase the amount of carbon stored in the structure. Image credit – Kouvola Innovation Oy\/NERO project<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Reluctance<\/strong><\/p>\n

But there is a reluctance to use wood, says Dr Morsing, sometimes for understandable, if outdated, reasons.<\/p>\n

One reason is a fear of fire, partly because of ancestral memories of medieval towns in flames.<\/p>\n

\u2018Of course, wood burns and you have to make your design and your strategy of fire protection accordingly,\u2019 he said. But regulations focus on whether a building can be evacuated quickly \u2013 and that depends on many factors, not just the construction material. Deploying sprinklers, covering wooden facades with plaster, or using concrete in critical areas such as staircases can be strategies.<\/p>\n

Fires are also less of a problem when using mass timber. This is high-tech, engineered wood, such as cross-laminated timber (CLT), created by stacking multiple layers of timber at 90 degrees to each other under pressure.<\/p>\n

Mass timber \u2013 like a thick tree \u2013 burns just on the outside, the charcoal shielding the wood from further combustion within. With the right techniques \u2018it\u2019s possible to make a wooden building as safe as a brick or concrete building,\u2019 said Dr Morsing.<\/p>\n

Rotting is another problem that has yielded to new treatments and coverings, and can be minimised with the selection of the right tree species, he adds.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s strength: how safe would you feel on the 80th floor of the proposed\u00a0Oakwood Timber Tower<\/a>\u00a0in the centre of London? In fact, mass wood can be stronger than concrete, and steel and concrete can be used, sparingly, in taller structures to add rigidity, say experts.<\/p>\n

Industrialised<\/strong><\/p>\n

But there are other, less tractable obstacles. Since the 1960s, construction has industrialised, becoming a cheap, reproducible and fast system in which builders know what they are getting, engineers know what they are calculating and architects understand what is possible.<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a matter of industrialising the wooden industry in order to compete on cost,\u2019 said Dr Morsing.<\/p>\n

For example, although there are several firms manufacturing CLT, there are no common standards for its production. \u2018It\u2019s not so easy to use,\u2019 said Dr Morsing, \u2018because if you are an engineer or an architect you have several products available and you have to calculate in accordance with the specific supplier.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018It\u2019s a matter of industrialising the wooden industry in order to compete on cost<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

–Dr Niels Moring, Danish Technological Institute<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hasu agrees. He says that the main challenge is that structural components such as walls, partitions and floors (known as planar elements) are not standardised. \u2018Developers are not interested in developing a wooden solution on their own; they want to buy ready solutions. But wood is not standardised.\u2019 All the distinctive wooden buildings in Scandinavia, for example, are more or less tailor-made, he says.<\/p>\n

Another frustration is that most building codes and regulations date back to before timber was a high-tech product.<\/p>\n

Dr Morsing oversees a project called\u00a0Build-in-Wood<\/a>, which aims to drastically increase the proportion of wood used in the construction of multi-storey buildings by documenting and systematising wood components so that the construction industry finds it easy to use them.<\/p>\n

That means every unit of the same item needs to perform well, measurably and consistently. It also means figuring out how to pre-fabricate the components so they can be mass-produced off-site. Build-in-Wood is also helping six European cities to build more in timber.<\/p>\n

As well as constructing the ZEB Lab building, Hasu\u2019s project,\u00a0NERO<\/a>, has focused on improving the design and manufacturing processes of nearly zero energy buildings in general, such as how to make them sufficiently energy-efficient to withstand bitter northern winters, and do well despite seasonal fluctuations in temperature, light and moisture.<\/p>\n

\u2018I love the (ZEB building),\u2019 said Hasu, \u2018because they have tried to do it all.\u2019 He says it\u2019s a good example of how much can be done with pre-planning and the materials we have today.<\/p>\n

The building was built for a university and energy research company SINTEF, so he says they were instinctively open-minded when it came to trying new approaches to construction.<\/p>\n

But Hasu, who has spent 30 years working on industrialised construction and sites, believes once people experience living or working inside a mainly wooden building rather than a concrete one, they will be converted. \u2018It\u2019s much more quiet \u2026 and the wooden surface evens out the moisture inside \u2013 it is breathing. There\u2019s not so much echo inside. It\u2019s a very different feeling.\u2019<\/p>\n

The research in this article was funded by the EU.<\/span><\/span>If you liked this article, please consider sharing it on social media.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Originally published on Horizon magazine<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Four storeys high and made almost entirely of wood, the ZEB Lab building in Trondheim, Norway, had, even before it existed, sucked as much carbon from the atmosphere as it would probably produce in construction. Now, thanks to its arboreal origins, as well as to the sleek expanse of solar panels on its roof and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":316,"featured_media":1599,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[333,266,119],"class_list":["post-1597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-earth-energy-environment","tag-carbon-storage","tag-construction","tag-industry"],"yoast_head":"\nThey can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream? - Horizon Magazine Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Four storeys high and made almost entirely of wood, the ZEB Lab building in Trondheim, Norway, had, even before it existed, sucked as much carbon from the atmosphere as it would probably produce in construction. Now, thanks to its arboreal origins, as well as to the sleek expanse of solar panels on its roof and ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Horizon Magazine Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-25T16:27:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aisling Irwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Aisling Irwin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Aisling Irwin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e83541e32d03643ff153c4edd112d573\"},\"headline\":\"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-25T16:27:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1267,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"carbon storage\",\"construction\",\"industry\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Earth, Energy & Environment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/\",\"name\":\"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream? - Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-25T16:27:03+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1333,\"caption\":\"Wooden structures such as the ZEB Lab building in Trondheim, Norway, could dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of construction but they remain the exception in most countries. Image credit - Kouvola Innovation Oy\\\/NERO project\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/1597\\\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"description\":\"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/eu-logo.jpg\",\"width\":601,\"height\":283,\"caption\":\"Horizon Magazine Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e83541e32d03643ff153c4edd112d573\",\"name\":\"Aisling Irwin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Aisling Irwin\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/scienceblog.com\\\/horizon\\\/author\\\/aislingirwin\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream? - Horizon Magazine Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream?","og_description":"Four storeys high and made almost entirely of wood, the ZEB Lab building in Trondheim, Norway, had, even before it existed, sucked as much carbon from the atmosphere as it would probably produce in construction. Now, thanks to its arboreal origins, as well as to the sleek expanse of solar panels on its roof and ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/","og_site_name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","article_published_time":"2021-01-25T16:27:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1333,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Aisling Irwin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Aisling Irwin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/"},"author":{"name":"Aisling Irwin","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/e83541e32d03643ff153c4edd112d573"},"headline":"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream?","datePublished":"2021-01-25T16:27:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/"},"wordCount":1267,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg","keywords":["carbon storage","construction","industry"],"articleSection":["Earth, Energy & Environment"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2021","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/","name":"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream? - Horizon Magazine Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-01-25T16:27:03+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg","width":2000,"height":1333,"caption":"Wooden structures such as the ZEB Lab building in Trondheim, Norway, could dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of construction but they remain the exception in most countries. Image credit - Kouvola Innovation Oy\/NERO project"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1597\/they-can-capture-more-carbon-than-they-emit-so-why-arent-wooden-buildings-mainstream\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"They can capture more carbon than they emit. So why aren\u2019t wooden buildings mainstream?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","description":"The EU Research & Innovation Magazine","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#organization","name":"Horizon Magazine Blog","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/04\/eu-logo.jpg","width":601,"height":283,"caption":"Horizon Magazine Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/#\/schema\/person\/e83541e32d03643ff153c4edd112d573","name":"Aisling Irwin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3c0f9a126ff416fd189b170e7d82ca3350e022ae3dd403001a11b09cb5de3a4d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Aisling Irwin"},"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/author\/aislingirwin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/9kA0ARnQ.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgtNKV-pL","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1562,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1562\/qa-we-need-to-reduce-the-embodied-energy-of-buildings\/","url_meta":{"origin":1597,"position":0},"title":"Q&A: \u2018We need to reduce the \u2018embodied energy\u2019 of buildings","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"January 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Retrofitting Europe\u2019s buildings for energy efficiency is not enough to slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector and cut emissions in time to meet the Paris climate agreement goals, according to Dr Catherine De Wolf, assistant professor of design and construction management at TU Delft in the Netherlands. She\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/ruslan-khadyev-12Aqz3b3fxE-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/ruslan-khadyev-12Aqz3b3fxE-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/ruslan-khadyev-12Aqz3b3fxE-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/ruslan-khadyev-12Aqz3b3fxE-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/ruslan-khadyev-12Aqz3b3fxE-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/ruslan-khadyev-12Aqz3b3fxE-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":302,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/302\/construction-waste-to-be-turned-into-gas-masks-and-sports-equipment\/","url_meta":{"origin":1597,"position":1},"title":"Construction waste to be turned into gas masks and sports equipment","author":"Joe Dodgshun","date":"May 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Huge volumes of waste building materials that are discarded every year could be recycled into new products such as gas masks and sports equipment following research being conducted by scientists and recycling firms. Dr Kenny Vanreppelen, a renewable product researcher and founder of Belgian start-up Act&Sorb, set up the FibreCarb\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"MDF is widely used in the walls of buildings and has so far proven hard to recycle.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/green-renovations.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/green-renovations.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/green-renovations.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/green-renovations.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2018\/05\/green-renovations.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2899,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/2899\/more-comfort-less-carbon-clearing-hurdles-to-deep-building-renovation-across-europe\/","url_meta":{"origin":1597,"position":2},"title":"More comfort, less carbon: Clearing hurdles to deep building renovation across Europe","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"November 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"To improve living conditions and reduce buildings\u2019 environmental impact, EU-funded researchers are making deep renovations possible across Europe by securing financing, setting strict standards and building trust with residents. By Kaja \u0160eruga Dr Marika Ro\u0161\u0101, an expert on energy efficiency from the Technical University in Riga, wishes that everyone would\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Latvia\u2019s Soviet-era blocks are among the many poorly insulated buildings and EU-funded deep renovations are the best way to improve their energy efficiency. \u00a9 Aleks Kend, Shutterstock.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/11\/08.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/11\/08.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/11\/08.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/11\/08.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/11\/08.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/11\/08.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1796,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1796\/out-with-air-conditioners-in-with-chilled-water-how-europe-could-slash-its-cooling-footprint\/","url_meta":{"origin":1597,"position":3},"title":"Out with air conditioners, in with chilled water \u2013 how Europe could slash its cooling footprint","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"August 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"As climate change warms the world, we increasingly need to find ways to efficiently cool our buildings \u2013 whilst also lowering our emissions to attempt to halt the temperature rise as much as possible. Traditional air conditioners are a poor method of achieving either goal, but what if there was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/Out-with-air-conditioners-in-with-chilled-water-chuttersnap-ifmqouokaoa-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/Out-with-air-conditioners-in-with-chilled-water-chuttersnap-ifmqouokaoa-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/Out-with-air-conditioners-in-with-chilled-water-chuttersnap-ifmqouokaoa-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/Out-with-air-conditioners-in-with-chilled-water-chuttersnap-ifmqouokaoa-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/Out-with-air-conditioners-in-with-chilled-water-chuttersnap-ifmqouokaoa-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/08\/Out-with-air-conditioners-in-with-chilled-water-chuttersnap-ifmqouokaoa-unsplash-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":919,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/919\/reverse-fridges-and-insulated-walls-how-to-make-a-house-carbon-neutral\/","url_meta":{"origin":1597,"position":4},"title":"\u2018Reverse fridges\u2019 and insulated walls \u2013 how to make a house carbon neutral","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"August 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jonathan O'Callaghan As the world moves towards a carbon neutral future, many different areas from industry to manufacturing are working to reduce their emissions. But scientists are beginning to look at a different area \u2013 houses \u2013 to work out if it\u2019s possible to reduce emissions from Europe\u2019s homes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Retrofitting of houses on a large scale needs to start now to meet 2050 net zero energy target.Image credit - REMOURBAN","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/ByronCourt_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/ByronCourt_small.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/ByronCourt_small.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/ByronCourt_small.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/ByronCourt_small.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/08\/ByronCourt_small.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1069,"url":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/1069\/transparent-wood-the-building-material-of-the-future\/","url_meta":{"origin":1597,"position":5},"title":"Transparent wood: the building material of the future?","author":"Horizon Magazine","date":"November 26, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sarah Wild\u00a0 When Timoth\u00e9e Boitouzet studied architecture in Japan, where buildings need to survive earthquakes, he realised the next smart material might be one that humans have used for thousands of years \u2013 wood. \u2018In France, we build more with concrete and stone than wood,\u2019 he said. \u2018When I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Earth, Energy & Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Earth, Energy & Environment","link":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/category\/earth-energy-environment\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Transparent wood is created by stripping out lignin from wood and replacing it with a polymer.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/TOC_crp.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/TOC_crp.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/TOC_crp.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/TOC_crp.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2019\/11\/TOC_crp.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1597"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scienceblog.com\/horizon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}