A region long defined by its stone and masonry architecture is now looking to low-carbon timber for its next wave of sustainable growth. It comes as ten universities from across Southern Italy have joined forces to launch the LabNetMed Interuniversity Network – Wood, an initiative designed to revive timber construction in the region. Hosted by the University of Naples Federico II, the network comprises fifteen academic departments and will advise governments, industry, and businesses on the benefits and challenges of building with wood.
Led by Professor Beatrice Faggiano, an expert in structural engineering and architecture at Federico II, LabNetMed–Wood has identified three strategic priorities. The first is the sustainable management of forest resources, an effort to balance wood harvesting with long-term environmental sustainability. The second focuses on the engineering of timber structures, components and materials, exploring novel assembly techniques and digital fabrication methods. While the third centres on innovation in sustainable architecture, technology, and design, tapping wood’s low-carbon potential for future construction.
“We have gathered great participation and enthusiasm around our initiative,” Professor Faggiano said at the network’s launch event. “This demonstrates that there is concrete interest in a program that, starting from the growth and enhancement of the timber supply chain, looks at the development of the territory and the internal areas — both in terms of repopulating them and encouraging the return of businesses to the South.”
In the coming months, LabNetMed–Wood will convene regional workshops, pairing university teams with local administrators and timber-sector operators. The goal is to refine thematic priorities, forge multidisciplinary working groups and negotiate preliminary agreements for national and European research funding.
The network’s founding members include the University of Naples Federico II; the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”; the University of Sannio; the University of Molise; the University of Basilicata; the University of Salento; the University of Calabria; the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria; the University of Palermo; and the University of Enna Kore.
