IRG Notice Board
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UK Timber Design Conference 2026
The UK Timber Design Conference 2026, convened by Timber Development UK and supported by Swedish Wood and PEFC UK, will be held on 2 July 2026 at One Birdcage Walk, in London. The conference provides a national forum for examining timber’s evolving role within UK construction, with particular attention to regulatory change, supply chain capacity, and the decarbonisation agenda.
The programme runs from 9.30am to 5pm and is structured around keynote lectures, moderated panel discussions, and technical sessions. The conference focusses on mass timber systems and engineered wood products alongside residential, commercial, and public-sector case studies.
The sessions will consider embodied carbon accounting, implementation of the UK Timber in Construction Roadmap, modern methods of construction (MMC), fire and durability considerations, and design for disassembly. While practice-oriented in tone, the agenda engages substantively with policy, standards, risk, and performance evidence. The conference will be of interest to academics working in architectural science, structural engineering, materials research, sustainability assessment, construction management, and environmental policy, particularly those evaluating timber durability, structural performance, lifecycle analysis, and regulatory frameworks. It also offers value to doctoral researchers seeking insight into industry priorities and to practitioners engaged in specification, procurement, and technical assurance.
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BP 26: Building Pathology Conference
BP26 will be hosted by H+R Soccotech in association with Oxford Brookes University.
The conference will take place on 10th and 11th September 2026 at the University and aims to attract a wide audience of researchers and practitioners to address critical challenges in the built environment under the theme “Solving Tomorrow’s Problems Today.” This theme reflects a growing urgency within the field to develop evidence-based methodologies capable of addressing the escalating challenges posed by ageing building stock, climate adaptation, and new construction technologies.
Focus on Timber: Mass timber – the new Frontier ?
Of particular relevance to the academic community is the conference’s emphasis on timber construction pathology. As mass timber systems, including cross-laminated timber (CLT), glulam, and engineered wood product continue to reshape the low-carbon construction landscape, questions of moisture ingress, biological degradation, structural performance, and long-term durability are catalysing research. The intersection of heritage timber conservation and contemporary off-site timber technologies also presents fertile ground for research exchange. Contributions exploring advanced diagnostics, monitoring technologies, retrofit compatibility, and risk modelling in timber structures are especially pertinent. BP26 is ideally suited to academics in architectural science, structural engineering, conservation, and materials science, as well as doctoral researchers seeking peer engagement with an expert practitioner community. The conference offers abstract submission, publication pathways, and professional networking opportunities that bridge academic inquiry with applied industry knowledge. Delegates are encouraged to submit abstracts and register their interest via the conference website.
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IUFRO All-Division 5 Conference in Tartu, Estonia, on May 30th- June 3rd, 2027
IUFRO Division 5 “Forest Products” coordination team would like to announce the next All-Division
5 conference 2027 "Future Forest Use: Advancing Wood Science and Forest Products for a Circular
Bioeconomy", which will be jointly organised in cooperation with SWST and the Estonian University of
Life Science.
The conference will be held in Tartu, Estonia, at the Estonian National Museum from May 30th to June 3rd, 2027. First information about the event can be found on https://www.iufro-div5-2027.ee. As in
the previous events, the next All-Division 5 Conference will again bring together experts to discuss the future of sustainable forestry, wood science, forest products and the circular bioeconomy.
The conference will address the numerous aspects of forest products as represented in 11 active
research groups of Division 5, which can be summarised into key topics as follows. Future Wood: Climatesmart forest management and silviculture for forest tree growth, wood yield and quality. Wood Science:
From wood anatomy to the analytics of mechanical, physical and chemical properties. Wood Valorization: Innovative approaches of wood engineering and wood technologies to convert biomass into energy,
chemicals, fibers, and high-performance composites. Non-Wood Products: Exploring the value of
medicinal and edible components of forest crops. It goes beyond wood, emphasizing the efficient,
science-based use of forest resources for the good of mankind.
The call for sessions is open now. Submission deadline is March 15, 2026. To submit the proposal,
please visit the conference website (https://www.iufro-div5-2027.ee/call-for-sessions). The call for
sessions ends on March 15, 2026, and the acceptance of sessions will be announced in April, 2026. In
addition to scientific sessions, the program will include post-conference tours organised by the local
organising committee. To stay up-to-date, please sign up for the newsletter on https://www.iufro-div5-
2027.ee/welcome/.
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International Marine Wood Borer Network
A new group for studies into marine borers
The International Marine Wood-Borer Network (IMWBN) has recently been established and is a global community of researchers, practitioners and enthusiasts dedicated to the organisms that live in, eat and transform wood in the sea.
Marine wood-borers include shipworms (Teredinidae), piddocks, xylophagaids, gribbles (Limnoria), chelurids, sphaeromatids and their allies.
Today, they sit at the heart of several frontier research areas. Shipworm symbionts are a rich source of novel enzymes, antibiotics and bioactive compounds, and form a powerful model system for studying symbiosis. Naked clams – farmed shipworms – are emerging as ultra-fast-growing blue-foods capable of turning low-value wood waste into high-value protein. Fossil borings extend their influence into deep time, helping reconstruct ancient climates, shorelines and ecosystems over millions of years.
The IMWBN was created to unite people working on marine wood-borers across biology, ecology, palaeontology, microbiology, aquaculture, conservation, engineering, heritage science and biotechnology.
The IMWBN exists to give marine wood-borers – and the people who study them – a proper home: a place where this field is visible, impactful and high-profile, and where these remarkable “boring” organisms can receive the attention they genuinely merit.
More details can be found on their website (https://www.imwbn.com/)
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Woodbuild 2026
WoodBUILD 2026 in Wales is the next edition of the annual WoodBUILD conference and exhibition organised by Woodknowledge Wales (Home - Woodknowledge Wales). It takes place at the Trefforest campus of the University of South Wales on June 30 - July 1, 2026. The conference aims to build on the success of WoodBUILD 2025, which brought together forestry, timber manufacturing, construction, design and policy communities to explore how wood can drive low-carbon transformation from forest to built environment.
WoodBUILD aims to construct the bridge between knowledge and action by integrating forestry, low-carbon design, innovation, skills and Welsh government policy to turn ambition into delivery. It also aims to build and strengthen the domestic supply chain and increase the use of Welsh grown timber and manufactured forest products.
The conference also aims to build market confidence through case studies, round table technical sessions and demonstrations. These aim to show that pivoting to domestic timber consumption is viable and scalable to deliver housing and public buildings as part of the Nation’s step towards achieving Net Zero and developing a robust forest industries sector.
WoodBUILD aims to attract anyone involved with developing a ‘timber first’ domestic forest industries economy in Wales and the wider United Kingdom. Click here.
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Innovative Technologies in Wood Protection and Modification: Drying, Processing, and Functional Enhancement
Focus & Scope:
As the demand for sustainable, high-performance wood products grows, so does the need for innovative protective and modification technologies. This Special Issue emphasises novel drying techniques, processing strategies, protection methods, and functional enhancements that improve durability, stability, and performance — from lab-scale breakthroughs to industry-relevant applications. It aims to foster interdisciplinary exchange across wood science, material engineering, and environmental sustainability.
Topics include (but are not limited to):
• Advanced wood protection and preservation methods
• Innovative modification technologies (chemical, thermal, bio-based)
• Drying and processing improvements
• Functional enhancement for performance and service life
• Sustainable and energy-efficient approaches
Guest Editors
• Dr Davor Kržišnik — Department of Wood Science and Technology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia & NOVA School of Science and Technology, Portugal
• Dr Sauradipta Ganguly — Natural Resources Institute (LUKE), Finland
• Dr Drhmet Can — Bartin University, Türkiye
Submission Deadline: 31 October 2026
Click here or the image above for more details.
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The 12th HARDWOOD CONFERENCE will be held in 2026, as usual every two years in Sopron, Hungary.
Date of the conference is 18-19 June 2026
Please, find more details on the conference webpage by clicking on the logo above, or use the following link:
http://www.hardwood.uni-sopron.hu/
The organizing committee of the 12th Hardwood Conference would be pleased to receive high quality abstracts on all subjects concerned with hardwoods. The conference will feature key-note speakers, technical and poster presentations on various topics with special emphasis on hardwoods, see the website for more details.
Please use the template for preparing abstracts (up to 1000 words long). Deadline for abstract submission is 13 March 2026.
Conference proceedings will be submitted for evaluation in the Web of Science database. Proceedings of 8-9-10-11th Hardwood Conferences are already accepted and indexed by the database.
Registration for the event is now open, please use the online tool available at the following link:
https://indico.uni-sopron.hu/e/hardwoodconference2026
Discover the city of Sopron in the heart of Europe and meet senior scientists and young researchers from all over the world
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ECWM12
12th European Conference on Wood Modification
October 26-27, 2026
The 12th European Conference on Wood Modification (ECWM12) will take place in Dresden, Germany, on October 26-27, 2026. ECWM conferences provide a forum for research organisations and companies, as well as stakeholders, architects, and project managers to learn about the latest developments in wood modification, to discuss them with renowned experts, and to build networks in an informal and friendly atmosphere. All types of wood modification are covered. This includes thermal, chemical, or impregnation modification, as well as related technologies, such as microwave, plasma and enzymatic modification. The programme will also include testing methods and standards, environmental issues, quality control, and aspects of commercialisation and markets.
ECWM conferences were established in 2003 (Ghent), and in the same year, the European TMT Workshops were started in Dresden, organised by IHD. Both conferences have been successful, but there have always been some overlaps. Now, as part of ECWM12, the TMT Workshop series will be integrated into ECWM. The conference programme is arranged by the scientific committee. The official language is English.
To learn more please click here.