Timber knowledge is now a professional requirement. Build yours for free.
Free online course on edX. Developed by TU Delft
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Over 4,500 learners, from more than 100 countries, already signed up for the free online course ‘Sustainable Building with Timber’. These professionals are already applying that knowledge in procurement conversations, design briefs, and sustainability assessments that others are still catching up on.
The course is available on demand. Start today, progress at your own pace, and cover the full picture in six modules: the environmental case for timber, lifecycle assessment, structural systems, fire performance, facade design, and prefabrication.
Developed by TU Delft, ranked third globally for architecture, in collaboration with FSC and industry partners.
"The way and manner we build and materialize has to change. One of the most promising solutions is building with wood and other biobased materials from sustainably managed sources.”
Arjan van Timmeren, professor of Environmental Technology & Design at TU Delft
Why join the ‘Sustainable building course’?
The course rated 8 out of 10 across more than 4,500 participants. Learners contributed timber building examples from across the globe, making the course richer with each participant.
Whole-life carbon disclosure becomes mandatory across the EU in 2028. Procurement criteria are already shifting. The professionals who complete this course now are the ones being trusted to lead material decisions that others are still trying to understand.
Course syllabus
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You will understand why the construction sector is under pressure to change, and where timber fits in that shift. From sustainable forestry to policy barriers and economic drivers, this module gives you the broader context that makes individual material decisions legible. After this module, you can explain the case for timber beyond "it is renewable."
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You will learn how to read and interpret a Life Cycle Assessment, and understand what the numbers actually mean when comparing timber to concrete, steel, or aluminium. Carbon footprints, end-of-life scenarios, biogenic carbon storage: this module gives you the language and the logic to engage with LCA data in project conversations, not just accept it.
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You will get a working understanding of how timber behaves as a structural material: its load-bearing capacity, fire safety, seismic resistance, and impact on acoustics and indoor wellbeing. This is the foundation that lets you evaluate timber proposals, ask better questions of engineers, and spot the gaps in a specification.
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You will understand the structural options available across building heights, from low-rise to tall timber, including hybrid systems that combine timber with concrete or steel. By the end of this module, you can identify which typology fits a given project brief and have an informed conversation with your structural engineer about what is possible.
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You will go deeper into timber facades: the products, the detailing, the water management strategies that determine long-term performance. You will also explore prefabrication and what it means for construction speed, quality control, and adaptability. This module is where material knowledge becomes specification knowledge.
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You will see what timber construction looks like when it moves off-site: a conditioned manufacturing environment, predictable quality, reduced programme risk. This module makes the case for prefabrication not as an aesthetic choice but as a project management one, with direct implications for cost, time, and delivery.
Instructors
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![A middle-aged man with gray hair, glasses, and a beard, dressed in a suit, standing in front of a pink and red abstract background.]()
Arjan van Timmeren
Arjan van Timmeren is full professor at Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Department Urbanism, Environmental Technology & Design, Academical Portfolio Director ‘Sustainable Cities’ for TU Delft Extension School for continuing education and Principal Investigator at ‘AMS Institute’ (Institute for ‘Advanced Metropolitan Solutions’) in Amsterdam.
His work focuses on sustainable development in the built environment, with emphasis on Environmental Technology, Urban Metabolism, Circular and Biobased Economy, Urban Climate and environmental behaviour.
Arjan leads several (inter)national projects and has seats in (inter)national steering groups, quality teams and scientific boards
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![A middle-aged man with gray hair wearing a black jacket stands outdoors with a blurred background of greenery and buildings.]()
Gilbert Koskamp
Gilbert Koskamp is a lecturer at Delft University of Technology (NL) in the Department of Architectural Engineering and Technology, a research tutor at the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam, and a co-founder and partner at Ssse | OvO Associates Architects.
He was raised in Switzerland where he studied technical engineering and architecture and worked as an architect in the Saint Gallen Area, he has been located in Amsterdam since 1995. He is focused on researching the design of timber construction and is a founder of TREE_TimberREengineered, as well as the initiator and coordinator of Touching Cellulose, a high-end timber lecture series.
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![A man with long, wavy brown hair wearing a beige jacket over a black shirt, standing outdoors with arms crossed, in front of a blurred background of buildings and greenery.]()
Pierre Jennen
Pierre Jennen is a staff member at Delft University of Technology in the Department of Architectural Engineering and Technology, and a co-founder and partner at Ssse | OvO Associates Architects. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at Delft University of Technology where, in 2014, he initiated the wood studio in the Master 1 course.
He is also a contributor to TREE_TimberREengineered and to the Touching Cellulose high-end timber lecture series.
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![A smiling man with glasses, wearing a blue sweater over a collared shirt, in front of a wooden background.]()
Pablo van der Lugt
Pablo van der Lugt is research fellow for biobased building at AMS Institute and Delft University of Technology in the Department of Urbanism, in addition to his role as senior consultant in the mass timber and engineered bamboo industry.
He obtained his PhD from TU Delft on the environmental impact of building materials with a focus on biobased building materials. He is an expert on the biobased circular construction economy. He regularly gives keynote lectures on this topic and has written internationally acclaimed articles and books, including Tomorrow’s Timber and Booming Bamboo.
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![Close-up of a young woman with dark brown hair and light skin, smiling slightly, wearing a black top, with a blurred outdoor background.]()
Elizabeth Migoni Alejandre
Elizabeth Migoni Alejandre is a researcher at Delft University of Technology in the Department of Environmental Technology and Design. Her doctoral studies, conducted at Leiden University, have focused on environmental sciences, working on the connection of ecosystem services and life cycle assessment.
Her current research explores the environmental implications of biomaterials in the built environment to support sustainable urban transitions.
HOME for the future
This course is part of the HOME for the Future project, an initiative by FSC® Netherlands and FSC® Denmark. The project’s mission is to promote the use of wood from sustainably managed forests in social housing construction. To achieve this, the project focuses on several key areas: advocating for the inclusion of wood as a building material in legislation, enhancing knowledge within the construction industry about building with wood, and contributing to the National Environmental Database by producing life cycle analyses (LCAs) and environmental product declarations (EPDs). Additionally, tools are being developed to better assess the financial and climate-related benefits of building with wood. HOME for the Future is funded under the EU LIFE program.
The Sustainable Building with Timber course was developed by TU Delft's Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment and the TU Delft Circular Built Environment Hub, in collaboration with VIA University College Denmark, FSC® Netherlands, Ssse OvO associates architects, Lister Buildings, AMS Institute, Material District geWOONhout, Waechter Waechter and TU Darmstadt.