Double Wood: Twice the Resources from One Tree
Project Description
Double Wood explores how timber resources in construction can be used "twice," treating primary and reclaimed wood as equally valuable materials. Using the dismantling of a traditional Bregenzerwald house, the project analyses the circular potential of reclaimed wood. In collaboration with regional craftsmen, engineers, and recycling firms, it develops a practical defect and quality framework, pre-sorting and quality pathways, and alternative, tolerance-robust construction techniques. The findings contribute to revisions of the Vorarlberg Timber Award regulations and point toward resource-efficient, regionally rooted building.
Relevance to Liechtenstein
Around 43 percent of the country is forested, providing a substantial domestic wood resource. At the same time, the construction sector remains one of the most dynamic parts of the regional economy, shaping both economic development and the cultural landscape. Beyond these factors, the question of how existing raw materials can be used multiple times is gaining importance. As the project shows, there are concrete and practicable ways to enable repeated uses of wood across the region.
The project outcomes, including a practice oriented framework for assessing defects and quality, clearly structured process steps for reuse, and a set of actionable recommendations, create the conditions for keeping existing resources in circulation for longer periods. This helps reduce waste, lower CO2 emissions, and strengthen the regional availability of construction materials. The insights gained through the project demonstrate how a country with a comparatively small geographical footprint can still serve as a strong example of how regional resources may be used intelligently and circular processes effectively closed.
The project outcomes, including a practice oriented framework for assessing defects and quality, clearly structured process steps for reuse, and a set of actionable recommendations, create the conditions for keeping existing resources in circulation for longer periods. This helps reduce waste, lower CO2 emissions, and strengthen the regional availability of construction materials. The insights gained through the project demonstrate how a country with a comparatively small geographical footprint can still serve as a strong example of how regional resources may be used intelligently and circular processes effectively closed.
Scientific, Economic and Societal Impact
The project provides a set of straightforward and easily applicable approaches that architects and craft people in the region can directly integrate into their daily work. The developed frameworks and process guidelines illustrate how wood can remain in circulation across several life cycles and which simple measures taken during deconstruction and initial sorting already play a decisive role.
For students and future professionals, the project illustrates how constructions must be planned and assembled to enable as many high quality uses as possible from a single tree trunk. The results show that even small, immediately implementable steps can make an initial contribution to a circular building culture and support a broader transformation in the construction sector. They also highlight which actors within the industry, and at which levels, can contribute to solutions that are designed for disassembly and that use resources efficiently.
For students and future professionals, the project illustrates how constructions must be planned and assembled to enable as many high quality uses as possible from a single tree trunk. The results show that even small, immediately implementable steps can make an initial contribution to a circular building culture and support a broader transformation in the construction sector. They also highlight which actors within the industry, and at which levels, can contribute to solutions that are designed for disassembly and that use resources efficiently.
