Wood-based constructions with zero carbon footprint

The team's research and development reflects the needs of the transition to a standard of construction with almost zero energy consumption and a prospective comprehensive environmental assessment of buildings. Specifically, theoretically and experimentally substantiated structural design of structures and structural compositions for green buildings with almost zero energy consumption, energy passive houses, renovated buildings or for the reconstruction of historic buildings with a focus on the strategic domestic renewable raw material - wood. The team is engaged in the development of alternative and innovative materials on a natural basis (straw, technical hemp) with research into their properties, mainly in insulation. The structural design of innovative, so far unverified in practice wood-based structures and related technologies should be supported by serious research, computational analyses, laboratory testing, in situ measurements and life cycle analysis (LCA). The direct recipient of R&D results is the application practice, which deals with the production and implementation of wooden building structures, in the form of publicly accessible prototype solutions, as well as a summary of knowledge and recommendations for design and implementation practice. The knowledge is disseminated to the professional and lay public through accompanying publication and conference activities.

The team members have more than 200 publications in the Web of Science Core Collection database with over 2,100 citations and an H-index of 24 (2025). The uniqueness of the team lies in the fact that it is the only one in Slovakia that comprehensively deals with wooden building structures in the areas of design, technology, implementation – as well as in the area of ​​research and development. It is therefore directly connected to implementation practice, as evidenced by cooperation with representatives of practice, including the Slovak Wood Processors Association. The team's uniqueness is demonstrated by its involvement in prestigious domestic and international research, development and educational projects. The team's excellence is also demonstrated by numerous outputs in impact scientific journals, scientific monographs, and presentations at major conferences at home and abroad with significant acclaim. The team members are also co-authors of popular professional book publications in the field of Wooden Buildings, as well as the book Wooden Building Structures. The team has gradually built a top-notch infrastructure for research into the thermal, acoustic, and mechanical properties of wooden building structures and is one of the few in Slovakia that can perform environmental life cycle analysis of buildings (LCA) with carbon footprint quantification. The team members are authors of numerous expert opinions for implementation practice.