Early Adopter Cities

To understand and overcome individual barriers implementing Build-in-Wood solutions, seven very different European cities have been selected as Early Adopter Cities. They range from capital metropoles to mid-size and small mountain cities, making one thing clear: Any city can decide to build in wood and benefit from it.

The Early Adopter Cities take a leading role in the project, receiving detailed context analyses, workshops and implementation support from the Consortium and Advisory Board. Their stories shall inspire cities around the world to rethink construction and social responsibility.  

Brasov, Romania

Located in central Romania, ~160 km from the capital Bucharest, Brasov is nestled in the Southern Carpathians, an area rich in forests and other natural resources. The city grows fast, becoming one of Romania's biggest industrial and touristic hotspots.

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​Challenge: Increased demand for housing, renovations, need to decrease GHG-emissions

​​Build-in-Wood focus: strengthening of local wood value chain, developing strategies for wood use in multi-storey new builds and retrofits

Population: 290.000

We need to ensure the sustainable, inclusive and competitive development of our region. The Build-in-Wood project will help us to strengthen the value chain in the wood and construction industry by developing the local added value and capacity.  

Dragoș David, General Director of Brasov Metropolitan Agency

Trento, Italy

Trento, Italy's greenest city and its region Trentino Alto Adige are home to the country’s most important cluster in the wood industry as well as a growing green economy cluster, hosting innovative companies active in the bioeconomy and renewable energy sectors.

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Challenge: high-density urban area with increasing population growth, situated in a valley constrained by mountainous landscape

Build-in-Wood focus: Strengthening of local economy and urban-rural linkage, facilitating the cooperation between industry and administration, raising awareness to sustainability

Population: 118.000

Copenhagen, Denmark

The city of Copenhagen is one of the most sustainable and energy efficient cities in the world. The City aims to become the first carbon neutral capital city by 2025 and therefore invests in green transportation (bicycles are already the first choice for commuting)  and sustainable construction (focus on timber construction).

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Challenge: House the growing population, implement a new paradigm in the tender process, showcase benefits of wood construction (healthy, safe, climate-friendly, economic)

Build-in-Wood focus: Enhance regional knowledge, prioritize the use of wood in constructions as a sustainable solution

Population: 1.500.000 (Metropolitan area of Copenhagen)

Innsbruck, Austria

The outdoor sport destination Innsbruck is nestled between high mountains, leaving little space for the Tyrolean capital to expand. Since not only tourists and students seek it out, housing prices have significantly increased, exceeding even those of the capital Vienna.

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Challenge: strongly populated urban area with houing need, outdated perception of timber as material for "wood cabins" not urban housing

Build-in-Wood focus: Densification, new stories on existing buildings, simplification of building codes, timber-positive tendering in public sector

Population: 130.000

Innsbruck is looking forward to collaborating with Build-in-Wood to create a new era of timber constructions while protecting our climate and strengthening Tyrolean economy.

Georg Willi, Mayor of Innsbruck

Haringey, London, UK

As one of the world's most relevant economical metropoles, London has a huge urban growth with people moving in from all over the globe. London's population is expected to grow to 10 Million by 2030.

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Project status: pending

Population: 9 Million

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Metropolitan Region Amsterdam (MRA) is the country’s strongest economic region and home to over 14% of Dutch population. Amsterdam now focuses on climate neutrality and embraces circular economy. Through the collaboration with Build-in-Wood MRA wants to foster sustainable construction and intensify the use of wood as construction material.

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Project status: first workshop planned in summer 2021

Population: 2.500.000 (MRA)

© Luuk Kramer Fotografie

Trondheim, Norway

Trondheim, Norway’s former capital city and technology hotspot is also known as a centre of excellence in sustainable urban development. The Trondheim region, Trøndelag accents the sustainable valorisation of natural resources, including measures for promoting the bioeconomy and circular economy.

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Challenge: lack of expertise (on tall timber buildings), material sourcing / lack of local producers, timber building costs

​​Build-in-Wood focus: enhance personnel qualifications/trainings, re-use of building materials after end-of-life

Population: 200.000