Architecture has always been sensitive to building with wood. Indeed, it’s the engineers that currently place most obstacles to the encouragement of using wood in Portuguese construction. And actually, they do so as a result of lack of technical knowledge. Universities in Portugal, whether in Engineering or Architecture degrees, do not teach building with wood. The majority because they do not possess skills in the area, but even those that do (for example, University of Minho and Coimbra), do not have complete courses in the area due to the mere disinterest of the studies, in particular, of Engineering.

But wood is a construction material whose architectural function is merged with its structural function (engineering). Architecture often explores the visual quality offered by wood, its texture and colours. Timber members are normally visible, which raises a variety of challenges for Engineers. It is necessary to idealise and design effective connections in mechanical terms that are pleasing to the eye. On the other hand, if these connections are composed of metallic members, as a result of prevailing requests, this may require inserting these metallic members inside the wood for protection against fire.

Timber construction always stands to gain when there is collaboration between the Architecture and the Engineering. The project cannot be sequential – one subject matter then the other. The project must be integrating. Only in this way can the use of wood in construction be enhanced with the definition of reliable solutions in terms of engineering, with value added as to Architecture and, clearly at competitive costs.