50% of all wood cut in France goes unused. This gave Timothée Boitouzet, an architect and the founder of Woodoo, an idea: strengthen it at the molecular level, transforming the wood into a visionary construction material that is durable, translucent, rot-resistant, three times stronger than the original wood and more resistant to fire. In short, an augmented wood that will help to build tomorrow’s denser, carbon-neutral post-hydrocarbon cities.
The EDF Pulse Awards are the best-renowned prize in the construction sector.
“The 19th century was the age of iron, the 20th was the age of concrete, and the 21st will be the age of wood,” predicts Timothée Boitouzet. It seems that someone was listening: in 2017, Woodoo won in the ‘Smart City’ category of the EDF Pulse Awards. While he waits to see his augmented wood used in buildings, set to be around ten years from now, he is focusing on the luxury, design, watchmaking and automobile markets. Ultimately, Woodoo wood will allow the construction of towers stretching over 35 storeys high – three times higher than current wood-built buildings.
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2 years
of research at Harvard
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2x
less energy-hungry than concrete, 17 times less than glass and 130 times less than steel
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€7M
Fundraising target for 2018
The Team
Thimothée Boitouzet
CEO
Dr. Raphaëlle Thévenin
Head R&D Manager
Serge Mouange
Head of Development
Olivier Schmitz
Head of Finance
Patrick Lemaître
Head of Industry
Dr. Olivier Bertrand
Polymer chemist
Dr. Abir Bouledjouidja
Cellulose engineer
Aurélien Arnaud
R&D
Ingrid Eyango
R&D
Camille Fuzier
R&D
4 questions to Woodoo
Where did you get the idea for this startup?
As a trained architect, I began my studies in Japan, where I was fascinated by wood and the environment. I realised that it was essential for the future of our society to...
Any recent good news?
Our team is growing, we are adding new skills and we will soon be at the fund-raising stage.
In what way does your project revolutionise your category?
Having a secret agent explain how to encrypt my computer before a trip abroad.
In what way does your project revolutionise your category?
By 2050, 75% of the world’s population will live in cities. To accommodate this urban population, on a global level we will need to build an area seven times the size of ...