Building circular synergies: opportunities for locally sourced plywood construction systems

ABSTRACT: Reducing embodied carbon in architecture requires considering the construction processes and supply chain within the specific local context. The paper describes the prelimi-nary results of a research concerning the application of dry-assembled plywood structures to new and existing buildings, to outline the possible multi-scale contribution of poplar cultiva-tion and products to the Italian Northeast carbon neutrality. Following a desk study defining the plywood features as engineered wood, a case study analysis categorizes three building schemes and identifies the connections of each examined structure, specifying their five pos-sible functions. The resulting taxonomy depicts the functioning of plywood-based structures in relation to the wood or mechanical joints to be used, providing a toolbox to resort to when designing these systems. The circularity and reversibility of the solutions are then discussed, and the research further steps outlined