Distributed design
Made locally, from local residues, close to where it is used.
From waste to matter. An open system turning local wood waste into new, compostable materials, designed to be reproduced anywhere.
What it is
Wood residue, pressed back into form.
Woody develops bio-based composites made from wood waste and cornstarch, with no synthetic adhesives. Heat and pressure gelatinise the starch into a solid, compostable matrix that returns to the soil at the end of its life.
Low-tech by design, it is built to be reproduced locally by makerspaces, schools, and fabrication labs, using materials their city already produces.
Approach
Local matter, open method.
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Low-tech
Basic tools and simple steps. No specialised industry required.
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Open recipe
The formula is public and free to reproduce and adapt.
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Local value chains
Waste from nearby carpentry workshops becomes new, usable matter.
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From waste to matter
Wood waste is treated as a feedstock, not a leftover.
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Circular, not linear
Designed to return and be remade, not discarded.
In the workshop
What we are making.
Woody is in active development at Fab Lab Barcelona, as part of an open research process connecting material literacy, local waste streams, and distributed fabrication. Current work spans pressed panels and moulded objects, surface treatments for moisture resistance, and feeding offcuts back into new pieces. Finished pieces and documentation are on the way.
Collaborations
Shared, reproduced, adapted.
Over the past few years, the project has collaborated on workshops and activities with organisations and spaces across Barcelona, exploring how the material can be shared, reproduced, and adapted to different contexts.
Recursos UrbansAteneu de Fabricació Digital de GràciaTransfolabBCNFab Lab BarcelonaPFI CornellàReeFabMake-a-thekIAACTecnocampus
Contact
Let's talk.
Working on circular materials, distributed fabrication, or want to reproduce the recipe? Send a note.
Find me at FAB26, Boston · July 2026