As the first church to be built in Copenhagen for 30 years, it may well become an icon. Ørestad Church is a sculptural timber construction designed by Henning Larsen. A kind of “Church 2.0”, it is also a modern community centre that reaches out to everybody regardless of their belief.

The German city of Heilbronn is home to a remarkable timber structure. Innovation Factory 2.0 displays a new kind of aesthetics, both on the inside and outside. This sophisticated paradise for innovation displays precision craftsmanship from Switzerland.

Perth is home to the largest mass-engineered timber building in the southern hemisphere: the university complex named Boola Katitjin. Designed by local firm Lyons Architects with a length of 180 metres, the building used prefabricated elements sourced from Europe.

Wood doesn’t just improve creativity and performance, it also boosts the immune system and reduces stress. The research project HOMERA based at the Technical University of Munich has supplied extensive scientific evidence here.

The new winter quarters for Circus Knie leave no doubt that a storehouse can be an attractive piece of architecture. Whereas the existing building had to be demolished after 60 years, the new timber design is expected to last much longer.

Using a thermal activation system in connection with structural timber design works very well with rammed earth as well, as shown by the extension to the headquarters of Windkraft Simonsfeld in Lower Austria. This new build had a positive carbon footprint even during the construction phase.

It is a common fear that timber buildings add fuel to the fire. A town near Hamburg has a compelling response to this concern: Reinbek Fire Services have used wood for the construction of their fire station.

The city of Malmö in southern Sweden is home to the country’s tallest office building constructed entirely of timber. Named Fyrtornet, the project was designed by Swedish architects with materials and know-how from Tyrol, Austria.

A high-rise block resembling stacked wooden shelves has caused a stir in the French capital. Named Wood Up, this timber structure is reducing CO2 emissions by 80 percent compared to a conventional design, according to architects LAN.

The Prepared Rehmannia Root Crafts Exhibition Hall celebrates an important medicinal herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Luo Studio has created a shrewd design for a dome based on cost-efficient construction using standardized structural timber.

The sober practicality of metal constructions for industrial use is no longer inevitable. A different approach with rammed earth and timber for the new Weleda logistics centre has sent sustainability standards rocketing sky-high.

Office building HasleTre in Oslo was awarded the title of Norway’s “Timber Building of the Year” for good reason. With a visionary concept by Oslotre, it can be dismantled like a box of toy building bricks and is made predominantly of nature-based materials.

High-profile oat milk producer Oatly chose a dilapidated yet prominent building for its new head office: in the port of Malmö, the former foundry Gjuteriet has been transformed. The sustainable design uses plenty of wood and repurposed construction materials from the dismantled shipyard warehouses nearby.

Sophisticated architecture is no longer a rarity in high mountain regions. Refuge de Barroude is a mountain hut designed for the Pyrenees by architects Snøhetta, setting new standards for high-altitude construction.

Preservation of the round kiln in Zell has transformed an industrial monument and breathed new life into it. The extension to the original building is a marriage of bricks, wood and red concrete – just one of the lifelong bonds that are formed here.

ZERO. is a new modular office building in Stuttgart which uses serially manufactured wooden elements and building technology that exploits passive physical effects. This multi-tenant investor project takes a fresh approach in its sharing of spaces and services.

It is no secret that the construction sector is one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases. With carbon pricing still in its infancy, entrepreneurs in the industry are actively pursuing how to achieve decarbonization.

Five metres above the ground, a private residence straddles a channel that runs through woodland. It seems more like a suspension bridge in its approach, and this house indeed has a very similar design. Called the Bridge House, this structure by architectural studio LLAMA definitely lives up to its name.

Knarvik Church is a contemporary interpretation of the 1000-year-old stave churches in Norway. This award-winning sacred building designed by Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter has become a tourist attraction – and also a place that is open to all.

Expo 2025 in Osaka is welcoming its visitors with a structure that is in a class of its own. Architect Sou Fujimoto has designed the Grand Ring for the World Exposition. It is the world’s largest wooden architectural construction, made with glued laminated timber.

Two architectural innovations made their debut on the world stage at the Landesgartenschau in southern Germany’s Allgäu region: the self-shaping Wangen Tower made of wood and the Hybrid Flax Pavilion with robotically produced flax sections that reduced the quantity of wood needed for the structure by two thirds.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research examines the structure of matter. Its latest construction is already underway: named CERN B777 and designed by Henning Larsen, the new research centre will be round and mostly made of wood.

The TUM Campus at Munich’s Olympiapark shows how a carefully planned timber project can save resources and the associated costs. Shortlisted for the DAM Preis 2024, it was formerly Europe’s largest timber construction.

São Paulo is home to Brazil’s “most sustainable McDonald’s”. It has a timber design and is presented as an educational project for sustainable building. For the company, the wooden structure is a “recipe for the future”.

The master plan named Ecotope was chosen by renowned Swiss education and research institute EPFL to fulfil an important requirement. Green spaces will flourish instead of blanketing the ground with bleak tarmac; circular materials will replace concrete and steel.

A new entrance building has been designed for the Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin. With its striking lattice roof, the design by Austrian architectural firm Innauer Matt demonstrates that modern timber construction is a byword for progress through sustainability.

The new Raiffeisen Landesbank Kärnten building is a transparent timber construction with room for sheep on its roof. In this interview, querkraft architect Jakob Dunkl talks about the design and also the connection between sustainability and love.

Industrial wastelands need new strategies to present workable options for re-use. The architects at Smartvoll are experts in this kind of development. One of their designs is an ecosystem for the former railway depot in Amstetten, Lower Austria, as living space for plants, animals and people.

Its roof looks like three pyramids atop a space of celebratory grandeur, a wooden construction reminiscent of timber-framed buildings. This is precisely what the architects at Maccreanor Lavington had in mind for the new dining hall at Ibstock Place School.

Following completion of Germany’s largest timber housing development in Munich, the city’s first timber hybrid office complexes are now being built. Developed by Accumulata, these projects will offer sustainable workplaces for the future and also construction materials that remain in the loop.