JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #113 - June 2017 - 52

CONSTRUCTlON biocomposites
thinking creatively about the dwelling
and its different functions."

Translucentred
red oak sample

Towards new sustainable building technologies

of a biobased monomer, i.e. a plastic
of organic origin to solidify the wood.
It also made the wood translucent. He
says, "I woke up every two hours during
the night for two whole years, to verify
that the transformation of the wood was
proceeding satisfactorily. It took me quite
some time before achieving the desired
result. Most of a research scientist's work
consists of failure. But I wound up managing to create a material that contains
nature while serving human needs."
The biobased monomer is integrated
into the wood like a lattice, strongly
reinforcing the atomic bonds between
the fibres. Thanks to the cellulose,
which is a crystalline substance, the
wood lets light through and takes on
an appearance similar to amber.
The circular economy:
a virtuous cycle
Bionic wood is rotproof, waterproof,
and more fire resistant, thanks to its
higher density. It is also three times
stiffer. As for the lignin that is removed, it is recycled as a biofuel using

a methanization process, closing the
loop.
"With standard wood, you can't build
very high, as stability becomes a problem
above twelve stories. In future, it will be
possible to build wooden towers using
our super-wood! It meets the need for
tomorrow's cities to be vertical - it will
be possible to reach up to 30 or even 40
stories for the buildings of the future. The
projected carbon footprint is only half
that of concrete, and 130 times less than
that of steel, " says Mr. Boitouzet. For
one who regrets the overly artistic aspect of the current architect's profile,
this is a good way to mingle economy
and ecology. His aim is to return to the
social role of the architect, who in the
1950s-60s worked to improve living
conditions for his fellow individuals.
"Architects had a real impact on town
planning. They sought to improve the
living conditions of the population by

Timothée Boitouzet chose his "primary" profession to address that social
challenge, seeking to contribute sustainable solutions for the environmental issues of the twenty-first century
and to meet the coming international
regulations on building and construction.
Making the most of nature's
intelligence
All types of wood can be used to create
augmented wood, but Mr. Boitouzet is
more interested in the cheaper, more
ordinary wood species like poplar or
aspen. "You basically can't do much
with these, because they are too porous
and fragile. In France, 50% of this type of
wood is either not used, or used for heating purposes. The process is partially or
entirely recyclable, depending on the type
of infused constituents used, so it makes
it possible to upgrade and transform
wood of inferior composition into a wood
with high added value."
This bio-inspired hybrid material
could breathe new innovation into the
wood construction industry, which is
still under-exploited in France. France
has the second largest wood sock
in Europe (2.4 billion cubic metres
available), but uses it the least in the
building industry because that is not
part of its shared heritage. Developing
the material and promoting the "made
in France" label would therefore be
synonymous with productive investment, innovation and competition,
leading to the profitable use of these
resources and to the revival of the
wood industry.
More information:
http://woodoo.fr
Contact:
contact@woodoo.fr

Focus

This research was initiated in partnership with Harvard's molecular biology and biochemistry
department, MIT MediaLab, and the Cnam-ENSAM.
Timothée Boitouzet filed his patent and established his Woodoo startup in 2015. Six months
later, he received the "European Innovator of the Year 2016" award from the MIT Technology
Review, placing him in the spotlight.

jec composites magazine / No113 June 2017

http://www.woodoo.fr

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #113 - June 2017