prehistory
Hafted tools
Wood as the first structural composite.
Wood did not arrive as a finished commodity. Palaeolithic tools; CLT 1990s Austria around Global forests / Graz still explains who makes it and which tests it sits in.
Ten dated points, five eras and three milestones below are the spine — not a complete industrial history.
Where it began
Palaeolithic tools; CLT 1990s AustriaGlobal forests / Graz
Timeline
prehistoryHafted tools
Wood as the first structural composite.
medievalTimber frames
Oak frames and Japanese joinery traditions.
1830sBalloon frame
Cheap nails + pine remade North American housing.
1906Glulam patents
Weimar halls — laminated timber.
1930sPlywood aircraft
Mosquito and Hughes — wood as aero.
1990sCLT Austria
Cross-laminated timber for walls and floors.
2010sTall wood codes
18-storey pilots (Vancouver, Norway, etc.).
2010sAcetylated / thermally modified
Dimensional stability without CCA-era toxics.
2020sEmbodied-carbon argument
Wood vs concrete as climate politics.
2020sMass-timber fire tests
Char rates entered mainstream engineering.
The eras
1830s
Balloon frame
Cheap nails + pine remade North American housing.
1930s
Plywood aircraft
Mosquito and Hughes — wood as aero.
2010s
Tall wood codes
18-storey pilots (Vancouver, Norway, etc.).
2020s
Embodied-carbon argument
Wood vs concrete as climate politics.
Milestones
Glulam patents
1906Weimar halls — laminated timber.
Tall wood codes
2010s18-storey pilots (Vancouver, Norway, etc.).
Mass-timber fire tests
2020sChar rates entered mainstream engineering.
Knowing this timeline is how to read a mill certificate without treating Wood as timeless.
Keep exploring
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Overall 57