Events

Wood has shaped building traditions across the world for centuries, creating a rich and varied architectural heritage. Yet much of this wooden heritage, and the traditional knowledge, skills and ways of life connected to it, faces increasing threats. Modern construction practices, large-scale industrialisation, deforestation and other socio-economic pressures have accelerated the disappearance of wooden architectural traditions, making the documentation of these structures more urgent than ever.

The Endangered Wooden Architecture Programme (EWAP) Conferences bring together an international community committed to understanding, documenting and preserving wooden architecture. These events focus on the challenges facing wooden heritage, the ethics of conservation and community engagement, and the merits and limitations of different recording and documentation techniques. Each conference also highlights EWAP’s open-access database and its role in safeguarding at-risk wooden structures.

2026 EWAP Conference

CEPT University, Ahmedabad, India – 28 February 2026

This Conference is hosted in conjunction with the ‘Reframing Vernacular Architecture for a Decolonised World – A two-day conference organised by CEPT on 26–27 February 2026.

Conferences Sessions:

Methodological Reflections in Surveying Wooden Buildings: This session focuses on the diverse methods used to document and survey wooden architecture, from high-tech tools such as 3D scanning and photogrammetry to low-tech, analogue, and hybrid approaches. Contributions are invited to explore the strengths and limitations of different methods in capturing the distinctive materiality, construction techniques, and cultural context of wooden buildings. Presenters are encouraged to reflect on how choices in methodology influence what is recorded, represented, and ultimately preserved.
Timber Traditions in a Changing World: This session explores the rich and varied traditions of building with wood, emphasizing their deep cultural significance and the diverse communities that sustain them. Contributions will examine the transmission, adaptation, and resilience of wooden building techniques in the face of contemporary challenges, from environmental pressures and economic change to the loss of traditional knowledge. Presenters are invited to reflect on how these living building cultures are being supported, transformed, or endangered in different parts of the world.
Community-centred approaches to Wooden Architecture: Wooden buildings are more than architectural forms, they are lived-in spaces, vessels of memory, and cultural anchors. This session highlights the importance of ethical engagement with the communities that inhabit and care for these structures. Contributions will explore how community knowledge and participation enrich documentation projects and strengthen preservation outcomes. Case studies will showcase best practices in collaborative work and strategies for respectful dissemination, while also addressing the complexities and sensitivities involved in engaging communities as partners.

2024 EWAP Conference

Quaker House, Oxford - 25 October 2024

The Endangered Wooden Architecture Programme (EWAP) conference brings together an international community working on the preservation of wooden architecture. Focused on EWAP’s open access database, the one-day event will be packed full of interesting presentations concentrated on wooden architecture, heritage and recording techniques. It will discuss the scope and nature of endangerment of the world’s wooden architectural heritage; issues of ethics and community engagement; and the merits and limits of various recording techniques.

The EWAP Conference coincides with the British Academy sponsored ‘Knowing the Vernacular: Critical Reflections and Future Directions’ conference, which will take place at Oxford Brookes University on 26 and 27 October. Further details can be found on the British Academy website.