Into the woods: Resurgence in timber could redefine the construction industry

ONE interesting aspect to our "age of disruption" is the perception that a business or product that "disrupts" is completely new - new model, new thinking, new ways of operating. And while that perception is valid for some "disruptions", it doesn't apply to all. Let's consider an example from the building sector.

In the world of construction, we are currently living through something of a 19th Century gold rush, only this time we are not heading to the wild in search of precious metals, but something far more prosaic - wood. Timber has the potential to be one of the most significant disruptors to our industry in recent years even though it's one of the oldest construction materials known to man.

This paradox goes against what many would think of as disruption, but the revolution in timber construction is real, and what's more, we are just at the beginning. As Professor Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School noted, disruptors come from below and at Aurecon, that's how we feel about the modern reincarnation of timber construction.