The Iceberg model

Why is building with wood not yet the norm?

Mental models

Structures

Outcome

The security of what is known and what works (concrete), the lack of local production chains and with that also the lack of knowledge and collaboration leads to the abscence of a large wood-based construction industry.

There is a financially optimised building sector based on concrete, steel and stone, which makes it harder to challenge belief systems about whether or not these materials are the best option for the greater good. Architects and contractors are not always open to deviate from this tradition, because this is what they are good at and the world of wooden construction is too unknown to many.

Because the benefits of wood/biobased building are not widespread knowledge, architects and builders are also less likely to be concerned with the social problems these materials could solve. Such as the absorption of Co2, which is obvious, but also having a much healthier indoor environment for both body and mind.

People also tend to think that biobased materials are not as weather and fire resistant as more synthetic materials. They haven't built a very strong reputation yet. This belief and lackof trust is especially prevalent amongst customer/target groups outside of the building sector, which could reduce the amount of interest for the spaces for sale/rent. There is also misinformation about deforestation related to cutting trees.

There is a lack of local production chains, from the forest and forest management all the way to the construction site. The closest CLT factory is in Germany. This lack of production chain also leads to a lack of local knowledge, which means architects and builders have less organisations to rely on for knowledge and support. For this reason there are also very few architecture firms which have completely transitioned to wood and biobased, leading to a lack of collaboration.

Another structure is the fact that instead of building with new, unknown materials, the industry is trying to label harmful materials as "sustainable" by improving their production process. An example is circular concrete. These developments are not bad in itself, but they make it less likely that the sector will transition to wooden constuction anytime soon.