ABSTRACT
The ability of the timber construction industry to continuously embrace technological change is remarkable given that wood, with its long history of tools and techniques, and cultural traditions, is commonly considered a low-tech and conservative building material. Starting in the 1980s and accelerating in the 1990s, a first wave of automation and computerisation of fabrication unfolded within the manufacturing industry with the advent of computer numerically controlled machinery. The conversation about the state of the digitalisation of design and manufacturing is framed on the one hand by a retrospection of the technology-driven changes in building practice, and on the other by a speculation about possible future developments in the field. Hybrid construction approaches are perceived as a growing trend that has the potential to expand the share of timber construction into areas that are dominated by steel and concrete.
