Dr.ir. P. (Pablo) van der Lugt

Dr.ir. P. (Pablo) van der Lugt

Profile

Biography

Mass Timber | Engineered Bamboo | Biobased  -  Circular | Low Carbon | Healthy Building 

Pablo van der Lugt (PhD MSc Eng) is research fellow biobased building at AMS-Institute and academic guest at the Environmental Technology and Design section at the Faculty of Architecture. At this faculty he also received his Masters degree (2003) when he graduated with honours for his research work about bamboo as a potential building material alternative in Western Europe.

Intrigued by the subject and the potential of industrially processed bamboo as a fast growing hardwood substitute, in his PhD research at the Design for Sustainability program at TU Delft, van der Lugt compared the commercialization potential and the  environmental impact (LCA & carbon footprint) of industrial bamboo materials with engineered wood and other commonly used building materials.

After finishing his PhD in 2008, van der Lugt decided to put his learnings in practice in the building industry in various roles, ever maintaining a strong link with science (guest lecturer / researcher at TU Delft). Currently van der Lugt is active in the building industry as senior consultant sustainable and circular building, as well as ambassador (“kwartiermaker”) biobased building at AMS Institute and TU Delft / Faculty of Architecture (Environmental Technology & Design). 

In the vision of van der Lugt in the essential transition towards a more circular, bio-based and low carbon economy there are tremendous opportunities for smart bio-based materials such as mass timber and engineered bamboo to substitute abiotic, often carbon intensive materials such as concrete, steel, aluminium and PVC.

Van der Lugt has written several books (including Tomorrow’s Timber and Booming Bamboo) on biobased and circular design, architecture and sustainability, and regularly publishes his research findings in popular magazines and scientific journals. Van der Lugt is a highly demanded speaker following several formats, ranging from TED and Pecha Kucha talks, to keynote presentations at high-level international conferences, including the International Climate Conference in Paris, COP 21, Katowice Poland (COP 24) and Glasgow (COP 26). 

More information about Tomorrow’s Timber (2020) van der Lugt's latest book showing how mass timber can play a pivotal role towards a biobased building revolution, can be found here: www.tomorrows-timber.com

More information about Booming Bamboo (2017) van der Lugt's book on the potential of engineered bamboo for design and architecture, can be found here: boomingbamboo.com

Several publications, including van der Lugt's PhD thesis are available for download at the "publications" tab below (please scroll down).

For the Curriculum Vitae of Pablo van der Lugt please refer to www.linkedin.com/in/pablovanderlugt 

Expertise

Fields of expertise related to the built environment and forestry:

  • Biobased, healthy and low carbon building
  • Circular economy, resource availability and renewability
  • Climate change mitigation, carbon sequestration and construction stored carbon (CSC)
  • Forestry systems (bamboo, wood)
  • Mass timber, engineered bamboo / wood, modified wood, natural fibers
  • Implementation of circular and bio-based system innovations
  • Environmental assessments: LCA, EPD, carbon footprint
  • Green building certifications (BREEAM, LEED, WELL, C2C, Svanen, etc)

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Research interests

Biobased Building, Mass Timber, Engineered bamboo, LCA / carbon footprint, forestry, circularity. 

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Expertise

Publications

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