Soon it will be possible to live in Building of wood, cardboard or bamboo. What until recently seemed like a utopia, today has begun to shape the skylines of the world’s most advanced cities. New materials and technologies are challenging the dominance of brick and concrete, marking a turning point in the way we think about building and living.
For decades, the construction industry has maintained an almost constant equation: Cement, steel and brick. But while our cities continue to rely on what is known, in countries like Sweden, Norway or Japan, a new generation of sustainable buildings is already being built, built entirely from plywood, bamboo or other highly resistant recyclable materials.
he Sarah Cultural Center in Sweden The world’s tallest wooden skyscraper, designed by White Arkitekter, is today an icon of change. In Canada, they are experimenting with compressed cardboard in housing units, and in Japan, they are incorporating bamboo as a renewable resource with the same resistance as steel.
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Even big companies have already adopted this logic: Walmart’s new headquarters in Arkansas and campus to Google In California they were built using MassTimberIt is a technology that combines efficiency, sustainability and architectural beauty.
Every revolution is accompanied by resistance. “Wood is not solid” or “it is a fire hazard” are prejudices that new technical standards must demolish with evidence. Engineered plywood has higher durability certifications than many traditional materials, and responds to fire better than steel: it carbonizes its surface, protects the core and maintains its structural capacity.
The MassTimber system combines solutions such as Glued plywood (Glulam) and cross-linked timber (CLT), which allows the construction of buildings of more than ten floors using this material exclusively. In addition to reducing your carbon footprint, they reduce construction times, reduce maintenance and improve final quality.
In terms of luxury, the difference is also felt. Spaces built of wood generate a Acoustic and thermal comfort Superior, providing healthy air quality and warmth that concrete cannot replicate.
Why do we still see wooden towers in Buenos Aires or Mendoza? The barriers are cultural and normative rather than technical. Brick remains synonymous with solidity and permanence. However, the global trend shows that this model has been exhausted.
“The focus of this change is not if it will happen, but when,” says Agustín Lobera. In turn, Pablo Baldoma Jones, founder of Koventa and leader of the country’s MassTimber movement, provides context: “In Europe, a quarter of construction in the Nordics and Germany already uses engineered wood.
In Italy, it represents 7%, and in Catalonia, 3%. The United States, Australia, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay are advancing rapidly. “This global curve shows an opportunity for Argentina: MassTimber can be the spearhead of the manufacturing this sector needs.”
Experts agree that the path is to start with premium projects — hotels, offices, multifamily developments — that generate confidence and visibility, and then expand into mass housing. Like everything innovationAdoption begins with an aspiration before it becomes a norm.
Sustainable construction is no longer a fad: it has become a new frontier. The challenge is to connect industry, academia and public policy to advance the transformation the world has already begun.
Incorporating wood, bamboo or recycled materials is not just an aesthetic or environmental issue: it is a structural change in the way the city produces.
The architect who clings to the past loses his relevance. The new role requires thinking strategically, integrating data, technology and environmental sensitivity. What is coming in architecture is not just a trend, but a historical shift: a different way of conceptualizing the human habitat.
The question that remains is simple: Will we continue to build as was the case in the last century, or will we dare to build cities that breathe the future?
*Architect, co-founder and creative director of DOGMA Experience
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