Waugh Thistleton Architects – Arup with AHEC American Hardwood Export Council, lighting design Seam

Cortile d'Onore - Università degli Studi di Milano

What happens to the materials of a building when its life cycle is over? How can they be reutilized and recycled? These questions are increasingly important to reduce the consumption of limited natural resources, to combat pollution and to counter climate change.

MultiPly Milano (a version of the project based on the original model shown at the V&A Museum in London in September, during the London Design Festival) proposes the idea of using thin structural panels in CLT (Cross Laminated Timber) that can be easily dismantled, reconfigured and recycled (if burned, they can be transformed into bio-fuel).

Andrew Waugh

The installation, located in the Cortile d’Onore, is composed of a flexible system of 16 box-like parts of American tulipwood, one of the most widespread wood species in the United States and one of the most sustainable, with remarkable properties of strength with respect to weight. Designed by Waugh Thistleton Architects and produced by AHEC – American Hardwood Export Council, together with the engineers of Arup, the project interprets its mission in a simultaneously recreational and educational way.

Anthony Thistleton

The labyrinthine spaces formed by the interconnected modules lead visitors through staircases, corridors and open/closed zones, inviting them to explore the potential of sustainable wood in architecture.