Episode 127 - What If Wood Could Flow?

What if structural timber could be shaped to put material exactly where it's needed? In this episode, we sit down with the team from Strong by Form to explore Woodflow, a new approach to engineered timber that combines material efficiency, structural performance, and advanced manufacturing.

We break down how Woodflow is formed, how strand length and wood grade influence its behavior, and how it compares with established mass timber products. We also get into the engineering: strength and stiffness, weight, failure modes, durability, connections, field modifications, and the testing required to bring a new structural system to market. From current applications and code approval to manufacturing scale, embodied carbon, cost, and future research, this conversation looks at what it takes to move an emerging timber technology from the lab into real structures.

Guest Profile:

Jorge Christie is the co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Strong by Form, where he leads the development of Woodflow, a biomimetic engineered-wood technology that combines computational design, material optimization, and advanced manufacturing. An architect with advanced degrees in computational design and digital fabrication from the University of Stuttgart and ETH Zurich, Jorge's work focuses on translating the structural efficiency found in nature into high-performance timber products for construction and other industries.

Links & Resources:

structurEd (our free PE/SE study tool): TheEngineeringPodcast.com/structurEd

https://strongbyform.com/

https://strongbyform.com/woodflow-core

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=casNqN2u

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