Return to Wood

The theme of the very first issue of this architectural quarterly, which began its history in 2016, was wood. "To this day, all copies of the first issue have completely sold out, but the demand for it has not ceased – we are receiving requests both from individuals and from bookstores we collaborate with that feature INTRO in their offerings," says the magazine's publisher Jan Hejhálek, adding: "The concept of INTRA is based on the idea that we will gradually return to individual materials. Right now, the eleventh issue of the magazine is being released – which is actually the thirteenth issue overall if I include two specials – and its theme is once again wood."

The publisher also revealed that the magazine will be printed using a higher quality offset technology starting with this issue, will have a new cover, and will include one additional section. "In the issue before last, we decided to expand the editorial part with a page of essays by Petr Volf; now we have included another regular section, a page called Reflections, which should serve for both lightness and contemplation…," lists Jan Hejhálek.

What has not changed, however, is the enthusiasm of the entire INTRA team, with which they embark on the creation of individual issues, the effort to continually raise the level of the magazine, the desire to change the world, and to bring the best that is happening in the field of architecture. In the current issue, readers can look forward to interviews with Zbyněk Šrůtek, Jan Tyrpekl, or Pavel Valenta and Pavel Rydl from the studio d3D, as well as many interesting and inspiring buildings. For example, the Museum of Forest Finns in Norway, which refers to the surrounding wooded landscape with its many columns and creates a unique play with light, a barn for electricity generation located near Ravenna, Italy, which burns so-called waste biomass, a bird observatory, a new town hall in Prague's Ďáblice, or Tree House. "I offer people the opportunity to spend the night in the Tree House with minimal comfort. This way, one can more easily realize what they actually need and what they don't. For each night spent, people will be able to plant a tree, start a forest, or an avenue," reveals Jan Tyrpekl about this experimental building.

In the eleventh issue of INTRA, you will also learn how high can buildings be made of wood, what advantages wooden structures have over those made of concrete or steel in case of a fire, whether wood infested by bark beetles is devalued, or how long it takes for the volume of wood used to build a family house to grow back. Believe me, you may be surprised…