Programme

Miguel Angel Abián

Head of the Wood Technology and Biotechnology Department of AIDIMME since 2010. Coordinator, technical director or researcher in more than 55 R&D&I projects and Networks of Excellence on wood, construction and architecture, sensors, Artificial Intelligence, Smart Cities and ICT. International Schweighofer Innovation Prize.

Details about the paper:

1) I will expose the damage caused by xylophages in wooden structures and works of art.

2) I will explain the important and necessary role of sensorics and AI to conserve wooden heritage.

3) I will present sensors with AI algorithms that allow automated monitoring of wood.

David Andreu

David Andreu Mas is known for being founder and CEO of the company Goldservice and his work as an expert in wood pathologies in structural wood, accredited by the FCBA in France and Spain, his extensive experience of over 25 years as a specialist in wood pathologies, is recognized in 2010 with his appointment as a member of the Subcommittee SC-4 Wood Protection of the Technical Committee for Standardization AEN/CTN 56 of AENOR, he is also an expert participant of the group of Experts in Termites.

In terms of experience, he has been actively involved in hundreds of treatments, from the diagnosis of the situation and action plan, in cases such as the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See (Rome), to the supervision and execution of all the work, as technical manager and technician who has executed the treatment (Ibiza Cathedral among many others), he is an advisor in conservation and protection of wood of several prestigious architectural firms, as well as heritage companies and several companies of environmental health. He also carries out a very interesting work as a Judicial expert.

Josu Benito

Architect specialized in the diagnosis and intervention in wooden structures. Master in Heritage Rehabilitation. More than 15 years of experience in inspection, diagnosis and intervention in wooden structures. Currently responsible for the lines of Inspection of Wooden Structures, Termite Maps and the Wood Engineering Laboratory of TECNALIA.
Member of AENOR: CTN 56 SC4 (Wood Protection) and SC6 (Wood Structures).

Official professor in 4 Master's Degrees. Academic committee and professor in the Master of Structures, Construction and Design in Wood.

Currently working on Doctoral Thesis on inspection of wooden structures.

Dr. Mª Teresa de Troya

Researcher in charge of the Wood Protection Laboratory, ICIFOR-INIA-CSIC

Head of the Wood Protection Group of the Forest Products Dept. of the Institute of Forestry Sciences of INIA-CSIC. Forestry of INIA-CSIC.

His lines of research are based on the diagnosis of damage of wood structures as well as on the physical and biological chemical treatments that help to optimize the durability of wood according to its classes of use.

In addition to leading several research projects, she is the Technical Secretary of Subcommittee 4 “Wood Protection” of UNE, as well as an expert in different working groups of the European Committee for Standardization.

Dr. Juan Ignacio Fernández-Golfín

He has a PhD in Forestry Engineering, specializing in Wood Technology. He is currently a Research Professor at the Institute of Forestry Sciences of INIA-CSIC, where he has been working uninterruptedly since 1985 on the main aspects related to wood and its by-products as construction materials. He is the author of numerous books and articles, both research and technical divulgation. He was the founder of the Laboratory of Wood Products for Construction of INIA, which he directed for 20 years, until in 2023 he delegated his functions and dedicated himself to finish what will undoubtedly be one of his main contributions to the use of wood in construction and especially to the evaluation of the constructive design according to climatic variables and conditions of use.

Details about the lecture:

The lecture will introduce the origins of the Black Legend about wood in Spain throughout the second half of the 20th century and how from research, standardization and regulation the fallacy that wood burns has been faced in a very effective way and how nowadays the fallacy of more difficult resolution, such as the one that wood rots, is being fought with identical tools. The speaker will make a presentation of the most recent contributions made from ICIFOR-INIA-CSIC, and especially from the Bioconstruction Unit, to dismantle once and for all the main and most persistent fallacy, that wood rots, and help designers to select the most appropriate products for each condition of use, to optimize their designs and, if necessary, to prescribe treatments to be applied on wood and its derivatives.

Jorge Galván

General Manager of the National Association of Environmental Health Companies (ANECPLA). Treasurer of the European Confederation of Environmental Health Companies (CEPA). Treasurer of the ONE HEALTH Platform.

Forestry Engineer and Doctor in Architecture, Jorge Galván's professional experience has been developed mainly in the field of construction and wood protection. He has also worked at the University of Nebrija as responsible for the management of relations with companies. Within the sector of pest management and Environmental Health, Galván is known for his work at the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA) and more specifically in the promotion of wood as a construction material in various sectors. He is a master's professor in different fields related to wood and Environmental Health, and a member of different UNE committees. Since August 2021, Galván has been in charge of the general management of ANECPLA.

Manuel García Barbero

Architect in charge of the Wood Construction Department and the Clubmadera and Maderaula lines, belonging to the Industry and Construction Area of the Cesefor Foundation.

With 22 years of experience in wood construction in new construction and rehabilitation as an architect, independent technical consultant for architects and builders; founder and former project manager of Novadomus Habitat for 10 years, trained in Spain, Germany and Austria, has a couple of masters in wood construction.

Alberto Izquierdo Fuente

PhD in Telecommunication Engineering (1993) Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. Director of the array processing group at the University of Valladolid. Expert in multichannel acoustic signal acquisition systems and signal processing for the detection, localization and classification of acoustic events. He has to his credit more than 25 journal publications and a hundred congresses, 3 patents and multiple research projects.

Details about the paper:

The following paper presents an innovative and affordable acoustic system for the detection and localization of *wormworm* larvae in wooden structures using MEMS technology. This non-invasive development is designed to optimize diagnostics and allow targeted treatments, marking a significant advance in the protection and conservation of wood against pests.

Mikel Landa

Dr. Architect by the ETSAUN, shares studio with Alazne Ochandiano. They are specialized in heritage conservation, with a good number of surgical interventions performed on wooden heritage. He has worked in different areas of heritage conservation in Japan, Italy, France, Russia, Peru, Chile, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

He is a consultant for UNESCO World Heritage in several countries, especially in the field of timber built heritage and cultural landscapes.

He has been Chairman of the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Timber, Chairman of the Advisory Council of ICOMOS International. He has taught at several Universities in several countries, including 25 years at the University of Navarra.

Details about the lecture:

Intervention on the coffered ceilings of the Cardinals' and Bishops' lounges and the Borgognona Hall of the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See in Rome.

Located in the Monaldeschi Palace, built more than 400 years ago, the embassy is a historic building rich in heritage, including several wooden coffered ceilings. During 2022, a diagnosis of the state of conservation of all the building's trusses was carried out. As a result, two surgical interventions were carried out, the first in the Borgognona room, which consisted in the repair “in situ” of two chestnut beams. The second consisted of repairing and reinforcing two coffered ceilings in the Cardinals' and Bishops' halls. This intervention included removing the main beams and restoring their strength, lost decades ago, to make them structurally functional, and to recover the flexibility of the spaces above the halls and make them ready for future use.

Dr. Alfonso Lozano Martinez

Dr. Industrial Engineer. Area of Construction Engineering.

Alfonso Lozano is professor of the Construction Engineering Area of the U. of Oviedo. He is a member of the Research Group “Sustainable Construction, Simulation and Testing (GICONSIME)”. His specialty is Construction Pathology and Analysis of materials and structures of all types of constructions, especially historical buildings, with more than 30 years of experience in this field.

As for the presentation, the idea is to present some actions and constructive measures, which are applied in the intervention of buildings affected by subterranean termites, as a complement to the treatments by means of baits and chemical barriers.

Iñaki Martin

Technical Architect of the Sociedad Urbanística de Rehabilitación de Bilbao.

The versatility of a profession such as technical architecture, has led him to work in different areas to improve in each of them and be able to apply them accurately in their future work.

His work experience is varied in direction and management of work, prevention of occupational hazards, business management (marketing, sales, organization ...), working in a team and always learning and improving as a restless person that he is.

Efficiency, integrity, responsibility, follow-up, updating, commitment, confidentiality are fundamental aspects that he applies in everything he does, always for the benefit of the client and his well-being.

Dr. Roberto Diego Martínez

PhD in Engineering for Rural and Civil Development (2016) from the University of Santiago de Compostela, with international mention and Cum Laude.

Postdoctoral researcher at the University of Valladolid, member of the GIR in Structures and Wood Technology. Expert in wood technology, xylophagous organisms and non-destructive techniques to evaluate wood properties.

Author of more than 15 articles in scientific journals, about thirty congresses, one patent and two utility models. He has participated in multiple research projects and has developed innovative methodologies for the conservation of historic wooden structures.

Sergio Monge

Businessman in the sector for more than 15 years, his training has always been linked to Environmental Health, with a generalist, multidisciplinary and global vision focused on various sectors of knowledge, ranging from Environmental Sciences to Forestry Management.

This scientific-technical training and his accumulated experience make Monge an interdisciplinary expert in the knowledge of the scientific, technical, economic and legal aspects of the Environmental Health sector, which will lead him to the presidency of Anecpla in 2019.

Dr. Mª José Notario

D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Cordoba, within the Natural Resources and Sustainability program. Insect Conservation and Control: Biodiversity and Forest and Urban Pests.

Member of several research groups and expert committees related to the study and management of harmful organisms. Director of CEDESAM and teacher of professional certificates and specialization courses in the field of Environmental Health. Advisor and Evaluator of the qualifications of management of harmful organisms and Legionella in several autonomous communities.

Javier Redondo

Manager of TSA Conservación de Patrimonio. He runs a wood treatment company specializing in actions on buildings with historical value and also in humidity issues.

Training as technical manager in wood protection, Environmental Management certificates of various types and extensive training and experience in various aspects of the conservation of cultural heritage.

VÌctor Rubio i Monsant

Technical Agronomist Engineer, Postgraduate in business management and Technical Responsible in wood treatments, Technical Director of Ibertrac, sl, company of Pest Control.

Member of the working group of the Subcommittee 4 Wood Protection of the Committee 56 Wood and Cork that has made the Standard 56418 protocol for action in urban areas affected by subterranean termite attacks.

He has been working in the control of wood pests for almost forty years so he has touched almost all areas of the sector.

I have carried out countless actions in buildings affected by termites and other wood pathologies, including some of the most emblematic of the Romanesque and Catalan modernism.

Responsible for the design and coordination of the execution of the subway termite treatment of the neighborhoods of the Cooperative City of Sant Boi de Llobregat and the Arquebisbe Armany neighborhood of Vilanova i la Geltrú.

Details about the lecture:

It will address an intervention in a building that has special protection in which a localized affection of cerambycids was detected in the support of some ceilings of great architectural and decorative interest. Further examination detected an active termite infestation threatening the carpentry elements of the building. This is a typical example of how often the greatest dangers go unnoticed and it is the trained eye that sees beyond the obvious.

Alberto Santana Ezkerra (Deusto, 1960)

CV: Historian specialized in the history of architecture in the Basque Country. Head of the Cultural Heritage Service of the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. Professor of History of Medieval Art at UNED-Bergara. Author of the television documentary series “A History of Vasconia”. He has published, among other works, “Arqueología industrial en Bizkaia”, “Ars Lignea. Las iglesias de madera en el País Vasco” and ‘La arquitectura del caserío en Euskal Herria’.

Lecture: “Conservation and intervention in Basque wooden churches” (Thursday, March 20, 11:30 a.m.)
Throughout the 16th century, dozens of parish churches and rural chapels in the western Basque Country covered their naves with beautiful Gothic star-shaped ribbed vaults. Many of these vaults were built using oak wood as the only construction material and constituted complex structures of carpentry that imitated the aesthetic appearance of the great stone vaults of the Castilian cathedrals, inspired by the Germanic late Gothic style. As wood is a much lighter material than stone, these churches never had flying buttresses and only rarely had exterior buttresses. However, the ligneous vaults generated their own problems of statics and conservation for which they had to design specific solutions from the mechanics of structural carpentry. Most of these Basque wooden churches, affected by different problems, have been intervened in recent decades and are being cured and revalued.

Sara M. Santos

She holds a PhD in Forestry Engineering from the Universidad.

Politécnica de Madrid. During the more than twenty years that she has been working at the Institute of Forestry Sciences of INIA-CSIC she has participated in research areas related to wood and cellulose-paper technology. Her current research focuses on the protection of wood against xylophagous microorganisms, as well as on the various applications of nanocellulose of bacterial origin and the metabolites produced during its generation.

Sara Santos deals with the pathogenic mechanisms of entomopathogenic organisms, as an alternative to traditional wood control.

Dr. Manuel Touza

He holds a PhD in Forestry Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and has more than 30 years of experience in Wood Technology Centers. Since 1997, he has been working at the Galician Wood Innovation and Technological Services Center, currently integrated in the Galician Forestry Industry Agency (XERA).

In the field of rehabilitation, he has directed research projects on the properties of old wood, as well as on intervention and reinforcement techniques in existing structures. He has intervened in the diagnosis of numerous structural elements in buildings as emblematic as the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
He is a professor in several university masters on timber construction and a member of the International Timber Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

In recent years, he has initiated a personal research on intangible heritage in wood and, in particular, on the presence of apotropaic marks.