Carla Ferrer, Thomas Hildebrand, Celina Martinez-Cañavate (eds.)

Touch Wood
Material, Architecture, Future

Wood is the building material of the 21st century. Understanding the renewable raw material and its potential requires recognizing it in its ecological, technological and cultural-historical contexts. These are explored in the publication and presented with inspiring examples – practical and visionary.

On this basis, the use of wood in architecture appears to be the order of the day, and Switzerland’s leading role in wood processing and building aesthetics is demonstrated in an international context. Authors from various disciplines create the content framework in which wood can be experienced sensually and its possibilities and limitations can be discussed. Touch Wood – Material, Architecture, Future is aimed at an engaged audience of experts and laypersons who want to enrich their experiences with knowledge and thus become actors in the promotion of wood in architecture. In addition to documenting exemplary buildings in accessible texts and with numerous illustrations, the publication also illuminates the many relationships that connect people with wood as a material.

Wood is the building material of the 21st century. Understanding the renewable raw material and its potential requires recognizing it in its ecological, technological and cultural-historical contexts. These are explored in the publication and presented with inspiring examples – practical and visionary.

On this basis, the use of wood in architecture appears to be the order of the day, and Switzerland’s leading role in wood processing and building aesthetics is demonstrated in an international context. Authors from various disciplines create the content framework in which wood can be experienced sensually and its possibilities and limitations can be discussed. Touch Wood – Material, Architecture, Future is aimed at an engaged audience of experts and laypersons who want to enrich their experiences with knowledge and thus become actors in the promotion of wood in architecture. In addition to documenting exemplary buildings in accessible texts and with numerous illustrations, the publication also illuminates the many relationships that connect people with wood as a material.

English edition – also available in German


"Essays in the new book Touch Wood recognize the need for a shift in how we think about trees, and inadvertently show why it has yet to happen"

Edwin Heathcote, Untapped Journal

"This carefully prepared anthology dedicated to wood explores the medium through multiple lenses."

Architectural Record


 

Edited by Carla Ferrer, Thomas Hildebrand, Celina Martinez-Cañavate

With contributions by Hubertus Adam, Herzog & de Meuron, Seng Kuan, Kengo Kuma, Katharina Lehmann, Stephen Pyne, Helene Romakin, Philip Ursprung, Albena Yaneva and others.

Design: Integral Lars Müller

20 × 27 cm, 7 ¾ × 10 ½ in

304 pages, 276 illustrations

paperback

2023, 978-3-03778-698-7, English
CHF 40.00

Thomas Hildebrand

Thomas Hildebrand (*1967) is an architect and founder of HILDEBRAND in Zurich. He studied at the Architectural Association in London and at the Bern University of Applied Sciences. Since founding his practice in 1999, he has been exploring the use of wood in architecture. His work has won awards such as the German Design Award and the North American Wood Design Award. Together with his team, he designs buildings in different scales for urban and rural contexts. Thomas Hildebrand is committed to a sustainable, human-centred and open architecture.

Carla Ferrer

Carla Ferrer Portrait

Carla Ferrer (*1987) is an architect and urbanist, graduated from GSD Harvard University and ETSAB Polytechnic University of Catalonia. She is founding partner at ITER, an architecture and urban design studio in Milan. Carla Ferrer has been awarded the Swiss Ikea Foundation Grant for Design Studies and the Real Colegio Complutense Fellowship from the Spanish Government. Since 2012, she collaborates with HILDEBRAND in Zurich.

Celina Martinez-Cañavate

Celina Martinez-Cañavate (*1977) is an urbanist and architect. Her focus is on the mediation of architecture. She studied at the Architectural Association, School of Architecture in London and at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (ETSAM). Prior to joining the management team of the architectural studio HILDEBRAND, she taught and conducted research at ETH Zurich and the University of Liechtenstein, where she earned a PhD in architecture and planning. Throughout her career, she has curated seminars and contributed to exhibitions, including the Singapore-ETH Centre for Global Environmental Sustainability (SEC) Future Cities Laboratory international conference and the Venice Architecture Biennale.