Greenoak Building Concepts with High-tech Methods

A research trip to the University of Bath was aimed at scientific exchange with colleagues from the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering. The focus was on topics of sustainable construction, wood material research and resource minimisation. The University of Bath is one of the leading architecture and engineering faculties in England and is increasingly researching in the field of timber construction. The trip took place from 20 to 25 May 2022 together with our research partner from Mainz University of Applied Sciences.

One of the research goals of the Trier Wood Competence Centre (HKT) is to show standardised timber construction methods in their production, construction and application. We also aim to develop new concepts for ecological and high-performance timber load-bearing structures from this, mainly from naturally dried oak logs. In particular, the weak oak wood frequently found in the Palatinate Forest is available in large quantities as a raw material and has so far only been used for firewood or as "precarious assortments''.

The inspiration for this research is the traditional timber construction culture in Great Britain. There, a so-called "Green Oak Building" exists, which, however, is largely based on handicraft tradition and requires complex timber connections made by hand. The object of the research is to convert such construction methods - with oak wood at wood moisture contents of over 20 % - into a contemporary technology with the help of 3D scanning methods, strength tests and databases developed specifically for this purpose. This makes it possible to use weak oak wood, which was previously considered to be of inferior quality, for eco-efficient smaller engineering structures such as vehicle sheds, stables, carports, production and storage facilities.