For sustainable architecture, wood is an ideal raw material. It is renewable and absorbs large amounts of CO2. But where does this building material actually come from, and how can sustainable forestry and wood processing be practiced? To what extent does the use of wood as a building material challenge established beliefs about professions and qualifications in architecture, engineering, and construction?

Journalist Michèle Leloup and architect François Leclercq – a pioneer of timber construction in France – have long been deeply engaged with the ecological, economic, industrial, and technical challenges of using wood as a building material, even for large structures and urban buildings. In this book, they summarize their findings using the example of forestry and construction activities in France. In an excursion, they also look at Austria and the innovative work of Hermann Kaufmann, whose development of traditional wooden architecture in Vorarlberg is internationally groundbreaking. Additionally, the book presents five outstanding projects by Leclercq Associés in the Greater Paris area and around Nantes in detail.

Richly and attractively illustrated with photographs by French architectural photographer Cyrille Weiner, the book provides a compact overview of current questions and insights in contemporary timber construction.