Bridging Ecology and Economy: Serial Renovations with Wood

Germany faces a dual challenge: how do we transform millions of aging buildings to meet tomorrow’s climate standards while also making our cities more vibrant and livable? The answer is both innovative and surprisingly simple-serial renovations using wood. This approach doesn’t just tick the boxes for sustainability and cost-effectiveness; it’s a game-changer that delivers faster, greener, and more attractive results than ever before.

Serial renovation with wood isn’t just about meeting economic, ecological, building code, and structural requirements like thermal insulation, fire and sound protection, or earthquake safety. It also fundamentally transforms the appearance of a property. This approach allows for architectural upgrades to both the interior and exterior, and enables structural improvements through targeted modifications.

Wood is especially well-suited for serial renovations: it’s lightweight, sustainable, and ideal for prefabrication. Standardized wooden elements speed up the construction process and minimize disruptions for residents. Serial renovations also open up opportunities for adding new floors or creating additional housing-an important factor, especially in urban areas.

As a leader in climate-neutral serial renovation, ecoworks consistently relies on modular wood-based solutions for residential portfolios. The widespread use of prefabricated, serially produced wooden façade elements is a game-changer for the urgently needed modernization of our building stock.

From a technical perspective, wood construction offers numerous advantages thanks to its low weight compared to reinforced concrete or masonry. Prefabricated wood elements - such as panel systems or room modules - are ideal for façade renovations, replacing or supplementing individual components, or expanding spaces through additions or extra stories.

Thanks to digital measurement methods, Building Information Modeling (BIM), and CNC-supported production techniques, even complex components can be prefabricated in the factory. CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) production uses computer-controlled machines for precise processing of materials like wood, metal, or plastic. This technology is revolutionizing manufacturing, replacing manual controls with automated processes that significantly boost efficiency, precision, and repeatability.

Serial Wood Renovation: Tackling the Renovation Backlog

About 22 million buildings in Germany are responsible for a third of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions (dena Building Report 2023). Nearly half (46%) of all multi-family buildings need renovation. Yet the annual renovation rate is below 0.7%, even though the federal government aims for a climate-neutral building stock by 2050. A broad range of funding programs is available to support this goal.

Serial renovation with wood presents huge market potential: between 3.8 and 6.5 million housing units and a market volume of up to €120 billion. This method can significantly accelerate the renovation rate and help make climate targets achievable.

Key Advantages of Serial Renovation with Wood

1. Sustainability, CO₂ Storage, and Reduced Embodied Emissions

Wood is a renewable resource that stores CO₂ as it grows, acting as a carbon sink. Unlike energy-intensive materials like concrete or steel, wood reduces the embodied emissions generated over a building’s lifecycle. Wood is also highly recyclable: components can be separated by type, reused, or repurposed - eliminating the need for landfill disposal common with composite materials.

2. Superior Insulation and Thermal Protection

Wood’s excellent insulating properties make it ideal for energy-efficient renovations. It helps lower energy costs and increases comfort for residents. The natural insulation values of wood can sustainably reduce a building’s energy consumption after renovation. Façade renovations primarily improve a property’s thermal protection. An insulating layer between the existing building and the new prefabricated wooden elements reliably prevents thermal bridges. By optimizing the building envelope, ecoworks can reduce energy demand - potentially down to NetZero standards.

3. Prefabrication and Modularity

Wood is perfectly suited for factory-prefabricated building elements. Serial renovation shifts up to 80% of construction from the site to the factory. Unlike traditional, time-consuming on-site solutions, modules can be quickly and precisely installed, making the process far more efficient and significantly shortening construction times. The modularity of wood components also allows for flexible adaptation to different building types and sizes.

Unlike conventional methods - such as retrofitted external thermal insulation systems that focus solely on reducing heat loss - serial wood solutions offer a more comprehensive approach and superior construction quality. Even extensive structural changes can be carried out while the building remains in use.

Technical service shafts for building equipment can be integrated directly into the wood modules. Upgrading building systems is crucial in multi-story renovations, and integrating decentralized or semi-centralized ventilation systems, for example in window reveals, is straightforward. Additional lines for electrical, IT, or heating systems can be planned into the façade. The wood façade system also makes it easier to supply new stories with utilities and allows for future maintenance from the outside - without disrupting residents.

4. Less Construction Waste and High Reusability

Because wood components are often prefabricated, less waste is generated on-site. At the end of their lifecycle, wood parts are easier to reuse or recycle, further reducing environmental impact.

Brick and aerated concrete are still the most commonly used building materials in Germany, accounting for about 51% of new residential buildings in 2022. However, the share of wood in residential construction has been steadily rising-from 15% in 2014 to 20% in 2022. Meanwhile, the use of brick has dropped from 40% in 2003 to 30% in 2022. Despite this, the construction sector remains slow to change.

While wood is increasingly used in single- and two-family homes, it’s still rare in multi-family buildings and renovations. Yet wood’s ecological benefits, technical properties, and suitability for industrial prefabrication make it the ideal material for serial energy-efficient renovations. Prefabricated wood components have long been standard in new construction, especially in timber prefab buildings or when combining mineral load-bearing structures with non-load-bearing wood elements. Wood’s excellent thermal properties, slim wall profiles, high degree of prefabrication, low weight, dry construction, and renewability all speak in its favor.

Learn more about ecoworks’ process and solutions for serial wood renovation.