PROLOGUE V: Health and Well-being in Timber Buildings

Wednesday, 3rd December 2025, 13:45 – 18:05 CET
29th International Wood Construction Conference, Innsbruck, Austria

Organised by the Technical Working Group ‘Building’, European Wood Policy Platform (WoodPoP)

Integrating multisensory experience and health effects of wood from living labs into building design

Moderation: Veronika Steinhofer-Juch (IUFRO) & Martin Behrens (FNR)

Wood and wood products are vital components for healthy, liveable and sustainable living and working spaces. What are the effects on physiological and psychological well-being? How can emerging research on multisensory experiences and health effects inspire future applications of wood – design to planning?

REGISTRATION

If you are interested in joining, kindly email your interest at contact@woodpop.eu.

EVENT LANGUAGE

This event will be in English.

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

13:45 – 13:55 Welcome, introduction on the importance on sustainable wood-based value chains

Georg Rappold, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Climate and Environmental Protection, Regions and Water Management, AT

13:55 – 14:35 Keynote: Health and wellbeing indoors with wood: How does it work?

Mike Burnard, InnoRenew Coe, SI

Renate Weisböck-Erdheim, Paracelsus Medical University, AT
Christine Meissnitzer, SIGES Massivholzbau, AT

14:35 – 15:45 Interactive Wood Sensation Lab – exploring the effects of wood

Testing stations and round tables on physiological, psychological, sensational, and anthropological effects

15:45 – 16:15 Coffee break (sponsored by Stora Enso Wood Products)

16:15 – 16:50 Scientific exploration on the effects of wood

Tuula Jyske, University of Helsinki, FI
Špela Vrtovec, InnoRenew CoE, SI
Boris Forsthuber, Holzforschung Austria, AT
Petra Seebacher, proHolz Styria, AT

16:50 – 17:20  What is next for research, development and innovation?

• Living Lab for the built environment: The life of buildings and the life inside them
  Jaakko Jussila, University of Helsinki, FI
  Mike Burnard, InnoRenew CoE, SI
• Perspectives and challenges for new applications of wood
  Gerhard Grüll, Holzforschung Austria, AT

17:20 – 17:45 Discussion with the audience

17:45 – 18:05 Looking ahead: Biophilia – a cognitive and emotional experience

Kirsten Haggart, Waugh Thistleton Architects, UK

18:05 – 18:15 Concluding remarks and closure of the meeting

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A short summary and the presentations are available under the following link: WoodPoP back at the 29th International Wood Construction Conference in Innsbruck - WoodPop