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Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by blagie on Monday May 19, 2025 @08:41AM (#44029236)
Why? That seems dumb.

We have concrete buildings going back to Greek and Roman times, mostly standing.

Wooden buildings have a very finite lifespan, and, aside from earthquakes, much less so in a disaster. A wooden city and a steel/brick/concrete city react very differently to firebombing.

Especially with declining populations, it makes sense to build structures to last. The old school brick/concrete/stone/... European buildings from 1500 are largely in good shape, at least where they weren't demolished by war.

Traditional European construction is also much more friendly for heating / cooling. The thermal capacity of stone-based materials helps a lot.

To me, it feels a bit like Germany banning nuclear power plants, and switching to Russian fossil fuels instead...

Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by supermatt on Monday May 19, 2025 @08:47AM (#44029285)
What do you mean by "Traditional European construction"? In much of central and northern Europe almost all construction is traditionally wood.
Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by quetzthecoatl on Monday May 19, 2025 @09:59AM (#44030019)
>In much of central and northern Europe almost all construction is traditionally wood.

That is woke bs and you know it. If it ain't 100% roman concrete, it ain't right.

Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by supermatt on Monday May 19, 2025 @10:24AM (#44030247)
Im not sure what you mean by "woke bs" as it is evidentially factual. Most of central and northern Europe wasn't even a part of the roman empire...
Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by quetzthecoatl on Tuesday May 20, 2025 @08:50AM (#44040999)
I was joking.
Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by supermatt on Tuesday May 20, 2025 @11:25AM (#44042673)
that went way over my head :D
Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by Hikikomori on Monday May 19, 2025 @12:42PM (#44031667)
Only barbarians with beards use wood.
Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by blagie on Tuesday May 20, 2025 @08:42AM (#44040926)
Drop a Google Streetview in the middle on downtown classical Gothenberg, and try to find a wood construction building. Sweden is about as northern Europe as it gets. Head over to Amsterdam, and it will look pretty similar.

It will be relatively similar to most other major European cities; solid masonry construction has historically been the norm.

You'll find some wooden houses in smaller towns and rural areas, but even there, if you head over to e.g. Poland, most things will be solid masonry. And the wooden construction is mostly relatively new; what you'll rarely find is old wooden construction.

Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by supermatt on Wednesday May 21, 2025 @03:54PM (#44055598)
You're clearly out of your depth here. Dropping into one city on Street View and thinking you understand an entire country's building traditions is laughable.

In Sweden, around 80% of standing homes are wooden. 90% of new single-family homes use wood. Gothenburg is the exception, not the rule, thanks to 19th-century zoning laws that limited wooden buildings to two storeys.

The Netherlands is Western Europe, not Northern or Central - basic geography.

Wood dominates residential construction in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Sweden, Finland, and Norway. Denmark is about 50/50. Poland uses more masonry today but has a strong wooden tradition in the south.

You're making sweeping claims about places you clearly haven't spent any real time in. Maybe do some proper research before pretending to be an expert.

Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by diggan on Monday May 19, 2025 @09:13AM (#44029511)
> Wooden buildings have a very finite lifespan

What is "very finite" here? Where I grew up there are wood houses/barns/structures made entirely out of wood and still standing/being used after hundreds of years. Is that not enough?

Re:InventWood is about to mass-produce wood that's stronger ... by micromacrofoot on Monday May 19, 2025 @09:20AM (#44029584)
Wood buildings can and have stood for hundreds of years, I'm in one right now. The ROI has been met after a few decades regardless of the material... at this point it becomes more economical to transport lighter materials that are easier to work with. Wood is also better for carbon storage as long as we're sourcing it sustainably. Concrete is one of the most carbon-intense materials out there.