{"id":32048,"date":"2026-01-25T15:42:44","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T05:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=32048"},"modified":"2026-01-25T15:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T05:42:45","slug":"grand-ring-timber-saved-from-firewood-for-50-new-homes-in-quake-hit-suzu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/grand-ring-timber-saved-from-firewood-for-50-new-homes-in-quake-hit-suzu\/","title":{"rendered":"Grand Ring Timber Saved From Firewood for 50 New Homes in Quake\u2011Hit Suzu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>More than 1,200 cubic metres of timber from last year\u2019s World Expo Grand Ring will be repurposed and used in 50 quake\u2011proof disaster\u2011relief houses, after Suzu\u2019s local government confirmed that up to 5% of the wood used in the two\u2011kilometre superstructure will be redeployed to support thousands of residents devastated by the 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wood Central can reveal that the proposal is being championed by Shigeru Ban, <a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/the-architect-using-bamboo-paper-and-timber-in-disaster-zones\/\">the Pritzker Prize\u2011winning architect renowned for pioneering construction systems using cardboard, bamboo, and plywood<\/a>, who said he hopes the initiative will \u201cgive people a reason to look at the reality of the disaster area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"otoHNKhi2iI\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 Inside the Largest Wooden Structure Ever Built | Expo 2025\u2019s Mind-Blowing Ring!\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/otoHNKhi2iI?start=205&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Inside the making of Osaka\u2019s Grand Ring \u2014 the world\u2019s largest wooden structure, built without a single nail and engineered to encircle the entire Expo 2025 site. Footage courtesy of GreatBigBuilds.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The decision comes after Sou Fujimoto, the lead architect responsible for the ring<a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/burning-the-grand-ring-japan-to-torch-worlds-largest-timber-structure\/\">, warned that up to 70% of the timber used in the world&#8217;s largest architecturally designed wooden structure was at risk of being chipped and sold as firewood<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, now, almost a decision by the political people [has been made about] keeping only 10%, 200 metres, and then all the rest will be demolished,\u201d Fujimoto said, adding that \u201cmaybe 20% could be carefully dismantled and then transported to other places for a second life.\u201d A point that is fully supported by Ban. \u201cIf the ring is just going to be disposed of as wood chips,\u201d he said, \u201cit\u2019s better to put it to effective use in a disaster area. It also creates conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It comes as crews began dismantling the ring in full last month, which, during the Expo, used more than 27,000 cubic metres of timber, including 70% sourced from Japanese cedar and hinoki, and the remainder from superstrong European red cedar. Engineered to withstand earthquakes, the ring was assembled using Nuki joints, a traditional Japanese joinery method requiring no nails or screws, allowing the timber to be dismantled and reassembled with minimal damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"vI2bkiXzpuk\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Aftermath of the 2024 Noto Japan Earthquake (And Why It Took Scientists Completely By Surprise)\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vI2bkiXzpuk?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>The Noto Peninsula Earthquake left communities flattened, destroying thousands of homes and displacing tens of thousands of residents across Ishikawa Prefecture. In Suzu &#8211; one of the hardest\u2011hit cities &#8211; officials estimate that 700 new housing units are still needed to support residents who lost everything.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And as for the housing, Suzu officials estimate that about 65 square metres of timber (20 cubic metres) will be used in each of the 50\u2011plus units. \u201cWe want it to carry on the Expo legacy and become a symbolic presence when our recovery is complete,\u201d a Suzu city official told Japanese media today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The new plan continues Ban&#8217;s strong ties with Suzu. In the weeks after the earthquake, he donated materials used to construct his paper\u2011tube partition system to help secure privacy in evacuation centres, and also designed a series of timber-based multi\u2011storey emergency housing systems to improve living conditions for displaced residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To learn more about the Grand Ring, which in March was awarded as the world record as the world\u2019s largest wooden architectural structure by the Gusiness Book of Records,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/record-broken-expos-grand-ring-is-worlds-largest-timber-structure\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">click here for Wood Central\u2019s special feature.<\/a>\u00a0And to learn why engineers are now developing new shock absorbers that will help buildings bounce back faster from quakes,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/bouncing-back-from-quakes-new-tech-a-lifesaver-for-timber-buildings\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">click here for Wood Central\u2019s special feature.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than 1,200 cubic metres of timber from last year\u2019s World Expo Grand Ring will be repurposed and used in 50 quake\u2011proof disaster\u2011relief houses, after Suzu\u2019s local government confirmed that up to 5% of the wood used in the two\u2011kilometre superstructure will be redeployed to support thousands of residents devastated by the 2024 Noto Peninsula [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32050,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"default","_twitter_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type":"default","_pinterest_share_type":"default","_linkedin_share_type_page":"default","_instagram_share_type":"default","_medium_share_type":"default","_threads_share_type":"default","_google_business_share_type":"default","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[3,38,52,37,32,46,48,49,68,31],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[70],"class_list":{"0":"post-32048","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-architecture","8":"category-architecture-and-design","9":"category-asia","10":"category-building-and-construction","11":"category-global-news","12":"category-industry","13":"category-mid-rise-construction","14":"category-residential","15":"category-sector","16":"category-top-stories"},"authors":[{"term_id":70,"user_id":2,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jason","display_name":"Jason Ross","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/J-Ross-headshot.jpeg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32048"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32048\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32052,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32048\/revisions\/32052"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32048"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=32048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}