Trees grow, and grow, and grow, and have been doing so for 300 million years, on every continent.

Trees grow, and grow, and grow – and have been doing so for 300 million years, on every continent. For the past 300 years, forests in Europe have been managed and used sustainably. Austria is a country of forests, just like Japan. We have been building with wood for centuries. But during the past three decades in particular, timber construction has been completely redefined here in Austria and now covers the whole range of building types: multi-storey apartment blocks, commercial and industrial structures, infrastructure, the health sector, sacred, cultural and educational buildings.

30 selected architectural projects showcase the innovative power and cultural aspirations of contemporary architecture using wood from Austria. The presentation also includes a building in Japan, designed by the Austrian architectural firm HK Architekten in Kurobe. YKK Real Estate‘s Passive Town project implements innovative approaches to residential construction. The project shows how insights from largescale modern timber construction in Europe can be adapted for Japan.

The wooden sculptures in this exhibition are designed by Atelier Andrea Gassner. They open up like oversized origami in an allusion to the tectonic qualities of today’s timber architecture with its planar materials. The magic of wood lies in its beauty and flexibility, its lightness and structural strength. And it owes its relevance as a building material of tomorrow to its regional availability and thoroughly positive climatic impact.

Projects by: ao-architekten, Architekten Luger & Maul, Bernardo Bader Architekten, Dietger Wissounig Architekten, Dietrich | Untertrifaller Architekten, feld72, Fink Thurnher Architekten, Freimüller Söllinger Architektur, Georg Bechter Architektur, HK Architekten, Hohengasser Wirnsberger Architekten & Erhard Steiner, Innauer Matt Architekten, Johannes Kaufmann Architektur, Juri Troy Architects, Lendarchitektur & Scheiberlammer Architekten, LP architektur, Ludescher + Lutz Architekten, mia2 Architektur, Nussmüller Architekten, Riepl Riepl Architekten, Schenker Salvi Weber Architekten, Schluder Architekten, SWAP Architektur

An exhibition project by the vai Vorarlberg Architecture Institute, curated by Verena Konrad and Hermann Kaufmann and designed by Atelier Andrea Gassner, was shown at Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka in May 2025 and will now be on show at Shibaura House in Tokyo.