Axel Schoenert Architectes founded Esika, an endowment fund dedicated to research into the forestry and timber sector.

Through this fund, the agency supports research exploring new ways of understanding, enhancing and using forest resources in the construction sector.

Esika currently supports five PhD theses, conducted within the E2WP Chair at the University of Bordeaux and the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Nancy.

From understanding forest ecosystems to construction methods, these research projects address various challenges related to the future of the timber industry.

Among the research projects supported:

• - Mapping forests using drones: developing autonomous systems capable of collecting three-dimensional data beneath the canopy to better understand and manage forest resources.
• - Better assessing the services provided by forests: looking beyond their productive value to take into account their role in carbon storage, biodiversity, water regulation and landscape.
• - Developing the use of hardwoods in construction: exploring the potential of oak, beech, ash and poplar, species that are still relatively underused in the construction sector.
• - Developing new timber construction systems: designing monolithic, bio-based partitions capable of meeting mechanical, thermal and acoustic requirements while remaining recyclable.
• - Making use of local resources for non-standard architecture: using short, curved or currently discarded timber to develop more circular construction methods adapted to the resources available in each region.

Through Esika, Axel Schoenert Architectes aims to contribute to the development of a more sustainable forestry and timber sector, bringing together research, architecture and construction practices.