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A travelling timber structure tests reusable construction methods in Turin, Italy
A European research project brings its modular timber demonstrator to Italy, testing how structural components can be dismantled, transported and adapted for new uses across different cities
A timber structure designed to be taken apart and rebuilt is making its next stop in Turin, Italy, where the European WOODCIRCLES project will demonstrate how construction materials can remain in use beyond the lifespan of a single building.
The WOODCIRCLES Travelling Demonstrator in its earlier configuration in Tartu, Estonia, in September 2026, via woodcircles.eu
The installation will be presented at Restructura 2026, taking place from 12 to 14 November at Oval Lingotto Fiere. Developed with Waugh Thistleton Architects and an international consortium of research and industry partners, the project explores an approach to construction in which buildings are treated as collections of reusable components rather than permanent assemblies destined for demolition.
The travelling demonstrator was first assembled in Tartu, Estonia, in September 2026, outside the Estonian National Museum. Its arrival in Turin marks the next stage of a European itinerary that will continue to Rotterdam and eventually the Danish Technological Institute in Denmark.
At each destination, the same collection of structural components can be assembled in a different configuration, testing whether architectural systems can be adapted and reused without being reduced to waste.
The structure combines glued laminated timber columns and beams with cross-laminated timber wall and floor panels. It incorporates new timber, reused structural elements and panels made with wood recovered from demolition. Reversible connections allow the components to be dismantled without destroying the elements needed for future assemblies.
The demonstrator forms part of the four-year WOODCIRCLES research project, which investigates how recovered timber can be transformed into construction products and returned to the building sector. Its broader ambition is to establish circular material systems that connect demolition, manufacturing and new construction.
The WOODCIRCLES Travelling Demonstrator in its earlier configuration in Tartu, Estonia, in September 2026, via waughthistleton.com
Beyond the technical experiment, the Turin programme will examine how these principles could influence public architecture. On 12 November, a workshop organised by Fondazione ICONS will invite architecture students to design a temporary public building intended to serve the city for ten years before being dismantled and transformed into a structure with another function.
The exercise introduces a different starting point for architectural design: a building’s future disassembly is considered from the beginning, alongside its immediate programme, construction and use.
For architectural practices, the project offers a practical example of how material recovery, modular design and planning for future adaptation could become part of the initial design brief.
WOODCIRCLES also brings together architects, researchers, manufacturers and public-sector stakeholders, highlighting the partnerships required to make circular construction viable beyond individual experimental buildings.
The Turin installation remains a research demonstrator rather than proof of widespread commercial application. Nevertheless, by repeatedly assembling and adapting a full-scale structure, the consortium is investigating questions that conventional construction processes often leave until the end of a building’s life.
Further Information
WOODCIRCLES – Circular timber construction at Restructura 2026
Waugh Thistleton Architects – Travelling Demonstrator goes live
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