German city pilots modular timber TriqBriq blocks for sustainable housing delivery

The southwestern German city of Tübingen is trialling an eco-friendly public housing project using an innovative modular timber construction system developed by local start-up TriqBriq.

The project, part of the city’s social housing programme, uses prefabricated wooden blocks that slot together with timber dowels rather than mortar or glue. Concrete is used for the foundations and lower sections of the walls, as well as apartment dividing walls, to improve sound insulation and fire resistance. Around 2,000 blocks are being installed on the site, with construction managed by local contractor Fabio Natz.

“It is the first time we have built a timber house,” Natz said. “We are used to concrete and solid masonry. This is new, but it is interesting, so we decided to get involved.”

Timber system developed in Tübingen
TriqBriq began production in 2021 and has since delivered 15 sustainable buildings — one in Italy and the remainder in Germany — including the country’s first supermarket built entirely from wooden blocks. The company’s Tübingen plant produces around 8,000 blocks per month, though part of the process is still manual. Plans are under way to fully automate production, and the company is seeking investors to meet growing demand.

“Our biggest challenge right now is keeping up with orders,” a company representative said.

The blocks are made from coniferous timber sourced mainly from the nearby Black Forest. Foresters harvest trees affected by heat stress or overcrowding to allow forest regeneration, while also using wood from less valuable sections of the trunk and slightly damaged logs. This approach supports local supply chains and reduces transport distances.

How TriqBriq works

Cost and environmental benefits
While timber blocks cost roughly 10% more than conventional concrete, the environmental advantages are significant. Wood absorbs and stores CO₂ during its growth, making it a low-carbon alternative to concrete, which has high embodied emissions.

“If we compare the blocks to reinforced concrete, depending on the structural requirements, a concrete wall costs between €150 and €300 per square metre. With TriqBriq, you are looking at around €250 per square metre for the basic structure,” the representative said.

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Design flexibility and recyclability
Because the blocks are held together with wooden dowels rather than adhesives, they can be dismantled without specialist equipment and recycled or reused. The system can also be applied in building conversions or extensions.

“This product is definitely better than concrete,” Natz said. “You can almost push it apart. There is no glue, the wood is untreated, so it requires no special disposal, and it is suitable for recycling.”

In the long term, TriqBriq plans to license its technology so that blocks can be manufactured locally in other regions, extending the reach of the low-carbon construction method.

See: TriqBriq