- PROGRAM CODE: P4-0459
- PROJECT TITLE: Renewable materials for healthy built environments
- PROJECT TEAM: Andreja Kutnar, PhD (leader); Michael David Burnard, PhD; Bohumil Kasal, PhD; Rok Prislan, PhD; Anna Malgorzata Sandak, PhD; Jakub Michal Sandak, PhD; Matthew John Schwarzkopf, PhD; Aleksandar Tošić, PhD
- PERIOD: 1.1.2025 – 31.12.2027
- FINANCING: ARIS
- PROJECT COORDINATOR: UP IAM
The general objective of the research program is to provide new knowledge in the field of nature-based solutions, especially using wood, that support and accelerate the adoption of regenerative sustainability through:
- Material and processing advances to optimise efficiency and generate knowledge;
- Engineered living materials to bring the function and capabilities of living organisms;
- Design solutions for health and sustainability based on Restorative Environmental and Ergonomic Design (REED).
Advancements in these areas will lead to increased forest sustainability, healthier built environments, and growth in the forest sector. This will be achieved by a multidisciplinary team that will ensure progress in wood science, development of engineered living materials and lead to new interdisciplinary research that will accelerate the advancement of wood construction systems.
The research program consists of five working groups: materials, advanced manufacturing, buildings, information processing and health. These groups will collaborate and jointly contribute new knowledge, achieving scientific, developmental and innovation excellence (through outstanding interdisciplinary science) in the following areas:
- Development of new wood composites based on data on human health, theoretical knowledge of biomaterials and predictive modelling of material functionality;
- Comprehensive development and evaluation of existing and new wooden building products and systems with innovative materials and methods, the integration of modern insights into human health aspects, and the use of the latest analytical methods;
- New understanding of the physiological and psychological impacts of human interaction with wood and wood-based materials, such as wood composites;
- Data-driven intelligent solutions of next-generation sensor networks for sustainable buildings, computational design of biomaterials, and process optimization for the production of renewable materials.
