Visiting speakers at a recent Dunedin seminar, attended by architects and building industry representatives from throughout Otago, highlighted the benefits of using new forms of manufactured wood to create strong buildings, resistant to earthquakes.
They also highlighted the export potential of smart new forms of engineered wood.
One of the keynote speakers, Dr Paolo Lavisci, an Italian involved in earthquake-related engineering consultancy in that country, earlier visited heavily damaged buildings in Christchurch's inner-city red zone.
Wood, with its high strength-to-weight ratio and flexibility, had many advantages as an earthquake-resistant construction material, he said.
Another keynote speaker, leading English architect Andrew Waugh, designed the nine-storey Stadhaus apartment tower near London, which is the world's tallest wooden residential building.
Wood was "the building material for the 21st century" and New Zealand could benefit significantly by switching more of our wood exports into value-added products, including a new form of plywood, cross-laminated timber (CLT), Mr Waugh said.
Strong, relatively lightweight multi-level structures- sometimes termed "plyscrapers"- could be created more swiftly than before, he said in an interview.
New Zealand had the raw materials and could "really take advantage of this technology", he said.
The Dunedin seminar, "Reaching New Heights with Wood", was part of a national series organised by NZ Wood.
