Today's construction industry is still based on technologies that were largely developed in the first half of the 20th century and are primarily based on concrete and steel. This makes the construction industry the world's most resource-intensive sector. In Germany alone, around 500 million tonnes of mineral raw materials are consumed annually in the entire construction industry, which corresponds to around 90 % of all mineral raw materials mined in Germany [Destatis (2017)]. Construction and demolition accidents also account for around 50 - 60 % of the waste generated in Germany [Destatis (2019)]. This immense consumption of materials requires a rethink in favour of the increased use of wood as a structural building material (including the development of basic concepts for recyclable timber construction methods).

Against this background, New Wood Approach is an exploratory project. The aim is to analyse concepts of digital value creation, their dissemination and use cases, drivers and obstacles as well as the development of suitable concepts with regard to the special circumstances of traditional timber construction. The results of the project should provide a knowledge base that can help to strengthen the economic competitiveness of timber construction compared to mineral construction methods in the long term.

The basic idea of NWA is based on the realisation that value creation is increasingly dominated across all sectors by business models based on the principles of digitalisation and the utilisation of data. Driven by this, NWA follows two guiding principles:

• (1) The strategic adaptation of fundamental patterns and mechanisms of digital value creation concepts - such as platforms, data spaces and corresponding digital ecosystems - is the key to increasing material, time and personnel resource efficiency in timber construction in such a way that it is economically competitive with mineral construction methods even under today's economic boundary conditions.
• (2) Digital value creation concepts have the potential to set new standards in bilateral, cooperative collaboration throughout the entire construction process.

In close cooperation with theresearch partner Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research , the research project is being examined from the perspectives of organisational and process models (HTWK) and business models (ISI). The focus is also on a regular exchange with selected business partners along the entire value chain in order to ensure the practical relevance of the concepts developed.

The joint project started on 15.04.2024 and was funded for 18 months by theAgency for Renewable Resources e.V. FNRfor 18 months. The project is coordinated by the HTWK.

Keywords: timber construction, digitalisation, process model, business model, sustainability, networking