Theory in Practice: Inside the Timber Workshop in the Italian Alps
Each technical session was paired with a hands-on lab. The faculty studied CLT material characteristics and connection design, then installed a similar connection themselves—steel plates, fasteners, and all. They learned the principles of concealed connections and structural element handling, then assembled walls, columns, floor systems, and roof elements into a freestanding, full-scale mock-up alongside a local carpenter.
From there, the workshop moved into the detail considerations that determine how well a timber building performs, from hygrometric design and membrane selection for airtightness, to acoustic performance, fire behavior, and the risks humidity poses to steel-to-timber connections. Sessions in Rothoblaas’s R&D laboratory paired theory with live demonstrations, while a full-scale timber-hybrid model in the showroom gave faculty a tangible reference for a system many had only seen in drawings. Case studies from North America, including the Anthony Timberlands Center in Arkansas, connected the European content to projects their students would recognize.
The final day turned toward durability and, most importantly, the classroom. After a wall-to-window detailing lab, participants spent the morning in an academic integration session, developing frameworks for bringing timber construction topics into a specific course at their own institution in the coming academic year. Five experienced faculty mentors supported that work, helping participants adapt the technical material for architecture studios, engineering design courses, construction management classes, and student research. Those mentors remain available as an ongoing support network, extending the workshop well past its final day.
Bringing the three disciplines together also exposed faculty to considerations beyond their own areas of expertise. Architecture faculty gained deeper exposure to constructability; engineering faculty saw how structural decisions impact enclosure, acoustics, and delivery; construction management faculty sharpened their understanding of sequencing and quality control. It mirrored how timber buildings actually come together, where those disciplines coordinate from the very start.
The setting mattered, too: Cortaccia sits in a region with a centuries-old tradition of timber construction, and the Rothoblaas campus reflects it, including Italy’s first self-supporting mass timber warehouse, which participants toured with the technical team who helped build it. The facilities, equipment, and expertise on hand gave faculty access to applied learning that’s difficult to replicate in a conventional academic environment.
The impact of the week was designed to extend well beyond the Italian Alps. The 35 faculty members returned home with course materials, teaching frameworks, and a network that now spans three disciplines and dozens of institutions. Each will carry that knowledge into studios, lectures, and research projects, reaching hundreds of students who will enter the profession with a better understanding of how timber buildings come together.
Interested in bringing more wood solutions into your classroom? Explore Think Wood teaching resources and upcoming faculty workshops, and apply for the next opportunity.
