Sustainable Forest Management & Traceable Timber

1_Felling Selected Tree Specimen_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

The Valldaura estate comprises 135 hectares of forest within the 1300 hectare Collserola Natural Park. Looking at the stark contrast between this dense green mass and the surrounding urbanization of the Barcelona metropolitan area with an untrained eye, one would be forgiven for thinking the park represents an natural oasis unchanged since its primeval origins.

2_The 135 Hectare Valldaura Estate within the Forested 1300 Hectare Collserola Natural Park_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

However, in modern history, the forest of Valldaura (like ~66% of the world’s total*) has been manipulated by people nearly as drastically as the city’s now iconic beaches, whose sandy shores were reconstructed on previously industrial lots in preparation for the 1992 Olympic games. As recently as the 1940’s the landscape was severely cleared, not a single tree left standing, to suit the monocultural agricultural strategies of the time. Fortunately nature is resilient and the mediterranean climate generous, thus 80 years later the valleys are once again verdant.

3_The Valldaura Estate Completely Cleared of Trees in the 1940’s for Agricultural Purposes_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

4_The Same Vantage of the Valldaura Estate in 2018, Lush with New Pioneer Forest_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

Nonetheless, ecological succession operates on a time scale far greater than us humans, with each phase lasting 100’s to 1000’s of years, if not longer.* Accordingly, what may already appear to be a well established forest in fact represents a pioneering ecosystem, dominated primarily by fast growing Aleppo pine (Pinus halepensis). To accelerate development of the regionally appropriate mature ecosystem evolutionarily optimized to enhance biodiversity, carbon sequestration, air purification and resilience, and dominated instead by slower growing trees such as evergreen/holm/holly oak (Quercus ilex), strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo), hazelnut (Corylus avellana), and the bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) from which Valldaura takes its name, sustainable forest management practices are therefore required. Grossly generalized, ~40% of the current forest biomass, mainly the aforementioned pines which grow so tall so quickly that species below are stunted by their shade, must be removed.*

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6_Expert Gerard Passola (a.k.a. Doctor Arbol) Teaching Students the Biomechanics of Trees, and How to Identify Optimal Specimens for Harvest_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

7_Individual Tree Specimens Carefully Selected for Harvest During the 2019-20 Season_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

8_Marking and Numbering Selected Tree Specimens_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

9_Documenting and Cataloging Selected Tree Specimens_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

10_Leveraging Drone-Captured Imagery and Photogrammetry Techniques to Recreate 3D Virtual Models of Forest and Individual Tree Specimens_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

In response, Valldaura Labs harvests approximately 40 trees each season. Every specimen is individually and carefully selected based on the Collserola Natural Park and Valldaura estate Forest Management Plans, diligently cataloged with regard to dimensions and coordinates, and evaluated against the internally developed criteria of L.O.V.E. (location, orientation, value, ecology) to guarantee their extraction both improves the long-term health of the forest and provides the resident Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities (MAEBB) class high quality, fully traceable material from which they can construct architectural prototypes.

11_Rigging Pulley Systems to Direct Tree Fall Path to Minimize Environmental Disturbance_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

13_Cleaning Selected Tree Specimens_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

14_Rigging Tow System for Extracting Felled Trunks from Forest_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

15_Extracting Felled Trunks from Forest_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

16_Loading Extracted Trunks for Transport to Lab_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

17_Staging Extracted Trunks for Transport to Lab_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

18_Trunks Being Transported to Lab, with Color Code Maintaining Full Traceability_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

Finally, each trunk is felled and withdrawn using a combination of wedges, pulleys, cables and winches to minimize undesirable damage to neighboring organisms.

27_Eventual Finished Lumber Coded to Maintain Full Traceability_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

12_Educating Students in Safe Usage of Forestry Tools_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

19_Students Trimming Trunks to Length for Milling_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

20_Students Washing Debris from Trunks Before Milling_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

21_Prepared Trunks Being Loaded onto Portable Sawmill_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

22_Milling Trunks into Lumber_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

23_Removing Milled Lumber from Sawmill_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

24_Transporting Milled Lumber to Drying Rack_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

25_Resultant 0km Lumber Pile from 2018-19 Season, Drying with Natural Ventilation and Solar Energy_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

26_Offcuts of Milled Lumber with Color Coding Maintaining Full Traceability_1024 x 768 @ 72 DPI

Moreover, the MAEBB students participate in the entire selection, harvesting and wood processing sequence, thereby gaining understanding and appreciation of the environmental systems sustaining our built structures.