Noibau uses various types of wood, primarily differentiating between solid wood and engineered wood products like plywood and particle board. Depending on the project’s requirements, they would choose different types of wood, as it has distinct properties. Common regional woods include pine, spruce, and larch, which are prevalent in Berlin due to historical reforestation efforts after the Thirty Years' War. These softwoods were mostly grown for economic reasons back then because:
“Softwoods grow much faster than hardwoods but do not create diverse forests. These are the forests you see here (around Berlin). These forests are highly susceptible to diseases, such as wood beetles and so on.”
When it comes to sourcing wood, smaller firms like Noibau generally buy from wood merchants who sell to commercial customers. Large firms might directly source from sawmills, getting better prices due to bulk purchasing. Noibau sometimes also bypasses intermediaries by directly contacting sawmills. Jakob explains that even a small company can source wood directly from a sawmill by being strategic. He mentions that they have done this themselves, emphasizing the importance of networking and making inquiries to locate the right suppliers. The wood they use usually carries certifications such as the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) seal, signifying sustainable forestry practices, which is often what customers look for:
“Many customers want to see a label. Then you have to say from the start that it might become more expensive because of this. But you can always ask. You can always find a dealer who can prove where the wood comes from.”
Even with an FSC certificate, the transparency of the supply chain is limited. The firm avoids tropical woods because of their environmental impact, but they also note that you can never be certain if they have been mixed with other types of wood:
“To be honest, with all the pressed wood, there is this FSC label on it, but it's not like with tree trunks, you can't really see where the individual logs come from. Especially with the composite ones... Yes, well, there could probably be a tree from the tropics. That should be avoided, but of course we don't know. Okay, and now, how realistic is it for a small architecture firm to pay attention to where it really comes from and whether it's good for the environment or not?”
Noibau predominantly uses new wood because recycling old wood, especially engineered wood products, is labor-intensive and often impractical. Old wood panels might be too damaged or cut into sizes that do not fit new projects efficiently. Solid wood furniture, which is durable, rarely returns to the recycling market as it tends to be used for generations. However, Noibau does repurpose leftover wood pieces for smaller projects:
“What we recycle are the so-called leftovers, which may seem like waste but can still be used for other smaller projects. For example, we once had the idea of building a children's kitchen. This is relatively small-scale, and you can use many leftovers, solid wood remnants and board remnants.”
Noibau also explores the reuse of structural elements. For instance, they once incorporated second-hand plastic windows into a tiny house project2 to cut costs:
“We built a tiny house, not on wheels, but a small house in a garden settlement. The customer had a limited budget, and we tried to save costs in various areas. One point was the windows, as wooden windows are extremely expensive, we quickly turned to recycled plastic windows and checked if some companies in the area offered them. These are mainly carpentries that remove the windows, store them in their yard, and sell them. These plastic windows cost a fraction of new windows. I think we spent 1000 euros for three balcony doors and four to five windows. They work just as well as before, are a bit dirty, need a long cleaning, but I think that would also work very well for wooden windows.”
While recycling wooden windows is more complicated due to potential decay, wooden doors and decorative wooden elements can be more readily reused. Noibau also built pavilions designed for easy disassembly and reassembly at different locations, in an effort to extend the life of their creations. The firm is conscious of sustainability, considering how materials can be repurposed and striving to use FSC certified and local wood to minimize transportation impact.
(interview translated from German)
2 See the tiny house project here