In the past, Taiwan’s construction and urban environment was closely related to the traditional steel and concrete industries. This means that the materials used for urban construction and pavements were homogeneous; this situation resulted in the generation of large amounts of waste in the urban renewal process and caused considerable carbon emissions related to construction. In recent years, extreme climate has aggravated the urban heat island effect, prompting researchers to explore new construction methods to improve the quality of Taiwan’s urban environment while ensuring sustainability. The Build Mass Timber Constructions with Taiwanese Wood project, launched by the Transdisciplinary Design Innovation Shop (NYCU TDIS), combines Taiwanese wood with unique structural arrangements and glue processing to effectively increase structural strength in constructions. This method greatly shortens construction duration and reduces the human resources required during construction. Since wood can be repeatedly disassembled and reused, the material can be circulated in the high-density urban environment in an environmentally friendly manner, thereby providing an effective urban renewal option. Additionally, Taiwan’s tree farms can maintain a positive ecological cycle through the production and consumption of wood materials.
The project aims to demonstrate the robustness of Taiwanese wood and its adaptability in the construction field and to review current regulations on wood structure buildings. The project also integrates multiple dimensions in the new industry chain (e.g., wood processing site, construction application of wood, and innovative structure design), to increase the visibility of Taiwan’s forestry industry. Therefore, the project team collaborated with the National Taiwan University Experimental Forest Station for the selection and production of Taiwan wood materials. By incorporating existing research and development outcomes of wood materials in the construction design, the project aims to promote Taiwan wood to the global market, thereby increasing our understanding of sustainable construction materials and improving the urban environment.
