Best of 2015! (Originally published May 18, 2015)

This prototype for a wooden bike by manufacturer AERO is not only beautiful, but it also demonstrates how thin wooden sheets can be used to build stronger buildings. Designed by architects Martino Hutz, Atanas Zhelev and Mariya Korolova, the bike is composed of 0.9mm thin sheets of birch wood blued together into strips.

The fibres of each lamella are aligned to contribute to the frame’s overall strength. The team has found that this layering method offers not only lightness, but also increased flexibility and durability when compared to traditional building materials made of wood.

The team is now investigating the idea of including layers of carbon fibre or aluminium within the wood lamellas to increase strength while reducing the amount of material necessary to construct the frame.

“The carbon absorbs the sheer force, which is higher on both sides of the wooden block, while the birch offers flexibility,” explained project engineer Mariya Korolova via Dezeen. “The ratio between the carbon and the birch would control the overall flexibility of the wooden lamellas.”