From plantation to architecture: Towards a multiple-site consideration of the transition to urban timber construction

Neue Kulturgeographie (NKG), University of Augsburg, 30 September–2 October 2025

This presentation investigates the possibility of assembling a theoretical toolkit drawing on concepts from urban political ecology and science and technology studies. I examine the results of ethnographic research that follows eucalyptus wood in northern Spain as it is grown, harvested, and used for the production of laminates for windows and doors, as well as for larger structural elements. I argue that such a combined theoretical approach is particularly productive in uncovering tensions among product promotion, inspection, and production related to monoculture sourcing landscapes and their variable disturbances such as wildfires and disease.

More information
https://kulturgeographie.org/nkg-2025-in-augsburg/programm/