A New Taxonomic Perspective on Wood-Based Technologies for the Transformation of the AEC Sector

The transformation of the built environment requests specific considerations in the definition of construction strategies. Under the technological perspective, the major requirements are lightness and efficiency, intended as the minimization of the impact over the existing building, along with the maximization of the building performances and overall value. To find suitable solutions, this chapter investigates wood as a construction material. At first, it defines the domain of the timber construction industry, by addressing the state of the art on wood innovations, between processes and products, according to the literature review and the outcomes from the interviews with international stakeholders. Afterward, it describes the taxonomic approach as a method to characterize building systems, proposing a revision of the current classification approach and the introduction of a creative taxonomy of timber-based construction systems. Finally, this taxonomy review is used to structure the final case-history survey upon timber construction strategies for building transformation, whose methodology and results are presented accordingly.