Prunning Wood
Raw Material for Sustainable Cities
Could part of the wood from pruning and suppression of urban trees not be transformed into useful components and objects?
We believe in the importance of urban afforestation for the quality of life in cities and, therefore, for the promotion of the conservation of urban greenery and for the strengthening of knowledge about trees, their different characteristics, functions and links with local ecosystems;
We understand the need to expand urban afforestation and achieve a better balance in its distribution, which makes the task of managing it more complex. We also see the high costs involved in disposing of tree waste in increasingly distant landfills, as well as the growing restrictions on this solution due to its impact on climate change.
The majority of pruning and cutting waste is still disposed of in landfills and dumps, composted or used to generate energy in the form of briquettes. However, we observed the potential for other sustainable uses for tree waste, with the added advantage of contributing to income generation and the structuring and integration of a new production chain.
We learned a lot from the organization of the 13th International NUTAU Seminar 2020 “Valorization of Urban Forestry Waste – potential for research and urban planning, architecture and design projects” and from the papers and experiences presented there.
With this in mind, we proposed to create tools that would enable the maximum reduction in the disposal of solid urban pruning waste and improve its use, with a view to long-term management progress – through solid, up-to-date technical documentation that is quick to understand and easy to replicate, in accessible language, with illustrations and graphics.
For whom?
Our work aims to reach the entire chain of people responsible for the management of urban afforestation and the residues of its pruning and suppression. It is also our goal to interact with self-employed professionals, micro and small entrepreneurs, especially low-income ones, who already use wood waste or who are interested in applying material from pruning and suppression of urban afforestation in the development of decorative and utilitarian products. As a focus of action, we prioritize achieving:
- Municipalities and public managers;
- Technicians from municipal administrations;
- Service providers;
- Joineries, sawmills and furniture industries;
- Design studios, architecture, landscaping and urbanism offices;
- Construction professionals and artisans;
- Professionals in the environmental and forestry areas.
Who we are?
PodaLab is an institutional project of the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of the University of São Paulo originating from the USP Municipalities Program, USP Challenge: Sustainable Cities (Notice 2021-1). Its team is multidisciplinary, with members from various university units, with different technological, projective and aesthetic backgrounds. We add specialists in the areas of design, architecture, urbanism, landscaping, forestry engineering, biosciences and plastic arts. We operate in the stages of urban afforestation management, with emphasis on the valorization of tree residues and their potential uses.
We have a systemic vision, focusing on the implementation of research and practical activities, which aim to contribute to the consolidation of more sustainable cities. We work as a free, public and accessible focal point that includes laboratories, experimentation, development of new materials and prototypes, research projects, capacity building and training activities and creativity workshops, with the aim of transferring technology to society through the website. Pruning Lab
We seek to disseminate knowledge and promote connections between people, companies and institutions through the PodaLab Network, which has professors, researchers, undergraduate and graduate students, graduates, architects, designers, artists, engineers, service providers and entrepreneurs who believe in potential use of wood from pruning and tree suppression processes in cities.
What do we value?
Based on Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, we value:
- The sustainability and resilience of cities;
- The development of the Circular Economy and the promotion of the cascading use of urban tree residues;
- Encouraging entrepreneurship and income generation;
- The design and production of products with greater added value;
- Mapping of technological routes with identification of potential uses of tree residues;
- Technological support for the identification of different tree species, their characteristics, functions and their valorization in the urban environment;
- The promotion of well-being and the requalification of public spaces in cities;
- The application of methodologies related to the management of urban pruning waste;