Circular by design: sbp x Cornell University

What if the wood from a demolished building became the structure of a new one?
That’s the vision we are exploring together with Cornell University.

Our ongoing collaboration continues to open exciting new pathways for circular and sustainable construction, something that’s at the heart of sbp’s values. Since 2020, we’ve been partnering closely with Cornell’s Circular Construction Lab, turning innovative research into real-world engineering solutions.

In his dual role as Visiting Scholar at Cornell University and Special Unit Lead for Sustainability at sbp, Dan Bergsagel dedicates part of his time to joint research on circularity and resource-efficient structural design within the Circular Construction Lab. The joint work in the lab explores how reclaimed wood can be evaluated, processed and reimagined for future applications.

The current collaboration focuses on supporting the lab’s work in refining machine learning methods for visually grading salvaged wood and developing adhesive-free lamination techniques that combine smaller reclaimed pieces into deeper, longer and stronger structural elements. These approaches offer low-carbon alternatives to conventional engineered wood while also extending the lifecycle of valuable materials and enabling a more sustainable reuse paradigm for salvaged wood in the future.

This collaboration is a perfect example of sbp’s commitment to circular construction, sustainability, and innovation. Together, we’re shaping a more sustainable future, one reclaimed wood element at a time.

Further insights into our collaborative research can be found in the following publications:

• Engineered wood products for circular construction: a multi-factor evaluation of lamination methods
• Scalable AI-driven automation for visual lumber grading

Photo credit: © Felix Heisel