The winners of the third edition of BUILD THE (IM)POSSIBLE were selected by experts deeply familiar with the challenges of contemporary construction. Designers, builders, engineers and technicians attending the Mass Timber Seminar International 2025 watched the finalists’ presentations live and selected the most brilliant, visionary and practical solutions.
The finalists, already assessed by the technical jury, convincingly demonstrated how timber can work alongside steel and concrete to deliver construction solutions that transcend conventional models.
From cutting-edge technical connections to advanced modularity, through to reuse and respect for design constraints, every proposal conveyed a clear message: timber is not only sustainable, but a genuine driver for rethinking the way we build.
“Students, researchers, academics” CATEGORY
THE WINNING PROJECT
Matias Ignacio Flores Tapia
Roque Emilio González Molina
Vicente Benjamin Castillo Moraga
Anahis Del Carmen Sanhueza Santibañez
Chile
Project: Itinerant Matrix of Emergency
Itinerant Matrix of Emergency was born from the need to provide immediate support to communities affected by natural disasters such as fires or earthquakes.
The project introduces a conceptual innovation designed to address a common limitation of emergency structures. When schools are used as temporary shelters, their educational function is disrupted, and families are forced to live in precarious conditions until classes can resume.
The proposal presents a system of housing modules that are easy to transport and assemble, and are highly versatile. Each unit combines essential living spaces with protected external walkways, which can be vertically stacked to create complexes able to house up to 30 families in areas that would otherwise accommodate only five.
The building features a timber structure consisting of a CLT floor slab, glulam posts and beams, steel tubular bracing and helical foundation anchor systems, which allow for dry assembly, ensuring rapid installation and good seismic resistance.
Rothoblaas connectors (DISC FLAT and PILLAR) ensure high-performance joints between steel and timber.
With timber accounting for 80% of the total volume, the project prioritises comfort, adaptability and environmental sustainability. Once the emergency phase is over, the modules can be reconfigured for new purposes: preschool classrooms, mobile healthcare units, field hospitals, vaccination centres, temporary market spaces, open-air trade fairs or cultural venues for exhibitions and community activities.
The jury recognised the project’s ability to offer a practical and intelligent response to housing emergencies, through a modular and transportable system that ensures dignity and quality of space even in critical situations.
The use of Rothoblaas connectors proved effective in managing timber-to-steel joints.
The long-term vision was also highly valued, with a design approach focused on disassembly and solutions that promote speed, adaptability and reuse. Timber, chosen for its comfort and lightness, is also used to its full potential from an architectural perspective, achieving a balance between temporary needs and construction quality.
The project goes beyond addressing immediate needs, offering a sustainable and replicable model for future architecture in crisis situations.
“Designers and builders” CATEGORY
THE WINNING PROJECT
Hugo Bell
Whitby Wood
united kingdom
Project: Optoppen
Optoppen – a Dutch term meaning topping up – is a “vertical” retrofitting project that adds four new storeys to a London building through a hybrid timber–concrete structure.
Its aim is to address urban densification while reducing environmental impact and promoting replicable sustainability strategies.
The structure employs a post-and-slab system featuring CLT floor slabs, glulam posts and beams, integrated with reinforced composite slabs and Rothoblaas connectors (TC FUSION, PILLAR, SPIDER) that optimise load-bearing capacity and structural performance.
The PILLAR connector effectively connects the timber structure of the vertical extension to the (traditional) load-bearing structures of the existing building below.
The project fully exploits the existing structural capacity of the London building, incorporates 65% timber and uses connections designed for disassembly, achieving a SCORS rating of 157 kg CO₂e/m².
Optoppen serves as a practical model for sustainable urban densification and adaptive reuse, adding value to existing building stock in complex regulatory environments like the UK.
The jury praised the project for its ambitious yet pragmatic vision in tackling the challenges of urban densification. Building upwards on existing structures is not only a smart choice but a necessity – and in Optoppen, this challenge is met through an efficient, modular hybrid system carefully designed for environmental performance.
The use of Rothoblaas connectors such as TC FUSION, PILLAR, and SPIDER enables the creation of a robust and integrated construction system. The choice of timber as a lightweight material to reduce loads on the existing structure demonstrates a solid understanding of both technical and regulatory potential, as well as a long-term vision of sustainability.
While yet to be built, the project clearly conveys the potential of timber for urban reuse: visible both inside and on the façade, it becomes an architectural language and a vehicle for transformation.
Building the impossible is possible
With the announcement of the winners, the third edition of BUILD THE (IM)POSSIBLE celebrates the courage of design that dares — in the choice of materials, typologies and construction techniques.
The winning hybrid solutions offer a tangible opportunity to reflect on the evolution of timber construction and traditional techniques, highlighting the potential to integrate different design languages, expertise and systems.
The winning projects demonstrate that, with creativity and technical mastery, it is possible to create architecture that is functional, sustainable and responsive to its context.
A special thanks to all participants and the jury members for their dedication, expertise and vision.