Sustainable and wood construction: realities, myths and opportunities

Building Biology is the study of the interaction between human beings and the built environment. It is a philosophy or building which takes into account health, the natural environment and the human need for shelter, likens the built environment as our third skin. In developed countries, cultivated wood is considered a basic material in the construction sector, especially in housing projects. At the other hand, in developing countries, most of the constructions are made of concrete, steel and other imported materials. Our engineers, architects and timber manufacturers have a lack of knowledge regarding crop, processing and properties of wood as a construction material. It is a fct that the wood, technically and sustainable managed, is a economical, aesthetic, structural, renewable, and environmental sound material, that can strongly contribute to solve one of the most important problems of human beings" the lack of shelter.