Editorial

摘要

In recent years the rapidly growing timber industry, carpen-try businesses, architects and engineers have clearly proven that timber-based construction methods can excellently han- dle practically every kind of building commission. Core elements of this progress are the old demand for the appropriate use of materials and the relatively new idea of hybridization. The former says that for every task the material chosen should be the one that fulfills this task most efficiently. The latter says that we can combine materials and constructions that are ideal for different tasks in a relaxed way. This is perhaps the core of the innovation: completely homogeneous construction methods would be the expression of an irrational absolutism. Once again here a sense of proportion and pragmatics show the way, and not the rigid adherence to often questionable ideals. In timber building with its many new variations and combinations the aspect of sustainability also plays a role. A raw material that can be harvested in the moderate and wet climatic zones on our doorstep and that even replenishes itself, as well as building elements which, at the end of a building's useful life, can be dismantled and used elsewhere, recycled for the production of new elements or used to produce energy - there is truly no other material that offers all these advantages. This suggests bright prospects for Central Europe in terms of resources and technology! One could, however, wish for more honesty in marketing this important development: it is, quite simply, unnecessary for banal wood facades to often be sold as "timber building" or, conversely, for intelligent timber constructions to be concealed behind plastic or mineral facades. What is needed, in contrast, is clear information about the performance of materials, prefabricated elements and construction methods that can also be read from the building. The examples in this issue show that this is possible. As a striking contrast we also show two concrete buildings that communicate different material performances, also at a high level.