The Department of Architecture at Aalto University offers a one year intensive program focusing on wood and wooden architecture. The Wood Program explores the ecological, technical and architectural properties of wood, providing a thorough and all-round view on the whole chain of wood construction, beginning with the tree in the forest and ending up with an experimental wooden building.

The Wood Program is a unique and challenging one year tuition fee-based program, designed to attract motivated, focused students from around the world to a period of intensive study on wood and the use of wood in a Finnish architectural environment.

The program is intended for candidates who hold a Bachelor’s degree in architecture or a related field such as engineering, landscape architecture or interior design. Applicants with equivalent professional experience and/or three years of study may also be considered, but they must demonstrate their particular qualifications in the application and portfolio. The language of instruction is English.

The Wood Program deals with the following topics:

• The ecological importance of forests and wood
• The technical properties of wood and wood-based materials
• Wood as a building material
• The tradition and development of wooden buildings
• Wood in the contemporary built environment
• Future concerns and potentials for wooden architecture

The Wood Program lectures create a theoretical background with design projects emphasizing practical issues. An emphasis is placed on personal tutoring and work in groups. Apart from the courses, learning proceeds through excursions to wood industrial sites, as well as various buildings and housing areas. The program is organized in cooperation with the Department of Forest Products Technology and the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

The Wood Program studies take place in the Department of Architecture, in an inspiring Otaniemi campus milieu with Alvar Aalto designed department premises and with well equipped studio spaces and workshops.

All Wood Program studies are officially registered, transferable, they will give a WP certificate and master level credits worth of 30 ECTS minimum per term, 60 ECTS per year. The Wood Program studies are studies based on agreement. For more information about courses, applications and practicalities check the ‘How to Apply‘ and ‘Courses‘ pages.