It all started with a moment of realisation. When Jesús Gámiz looked at the sapwood from the oak that is used in the manufacture of Grupo Gámiz products, he thought to himself: “Is incineration really the best use for this wood?”

At Grupo Gámiz, where substantial resources—financial, intellectual, and creative—are devoted to enhancing industrial, construction, and decorative wood solutions in terms of functionality, sustainability, and creativity, questions like these are commonplace.

Once the ideas were in place, action followed. Jesús Gámiz, the CEO of Grupo Gámiz, reached out to Miguel Marqués, the CEO of Maderas Unidas. He shared his concerns and sent over a board comprised of oak sapwood pieces.

“See if you can come up with something,” he suggested.

And indeed, he did.

Miguel Marqués (left) with Jesús Gámiz

OAK 2 LIFE: Winner of the award for the most innovative product in the field of sustainability and circular economy at FIMMA + Maderalia 2024

Both companies believe that they have set a new benchmark in the sector. OAK 2 LIFE offers outstanding technical, aesthetic, sustainable and cost-effective performance.

This solid wood panel is made entirely from oak and features a double oak veneer. It is versatile and suitable for furniture, kitchen or bathroom cabinet doors, staircase elements, panelling and interior curtain walls, among other applications.

Jesús Gámiz and Miguel Marqués are confident that the industry itself will discover many more applications for this fully recyclable panel.

This is just the beginning, and the product has already been recognised at major trade fairs such as FIMMA + Maderalia in Valencia, Carrefour International du Bois in Nantes, and the Rubio Monocoat Atelier in Belgium.

OAK 2 LIFE, awarded at FIMMA + Maderalia

OAK 2 LIFE at RUBIO MONOCOAT Atelier and Carrefour International du Bois

A panel that is both 100% sustainable and fully customisable

OAK 2 LIFE is produced using finger-joint technology. The strips are bonded with D4-rated, moisture-resistant adhesive.

After the panel is formed, it undergoes a veneering process on both sides to balance the tensions inherent in this type of solid wood panel. The result is a far more stable product with the appearance of solid wood.

Although the standard size of 2.95 x 1.22 m meets most industry requirements and facilitates storage, OAK 2 LIFE offers extensive customisation options for professionals and companies.

This means that a panel can be customised precisely to aesthetic preferences and size requirements in a straightforward process:

1. Choose the panel thickness: 21 mm, 26 mm, 32 mm, 42 mm, or 62 mm.
2. Choose the type of oak veneer:  Planked Oak, Knotty Oak, Pippy Oak, or Crack Knotty Oak.
   
3. Select the surface treatment: smooth, open pore, rough sawn or segatto.
   

The introduction of a new concept for solid wood panels in the industry

With OAK 2 LIFE, the surface can also be given a rustic, naturally aged look. This look is achieved by removing the softer parts of the wood using various brushing techniques, which significantly improves the desired aesthetics.

OAK 2 LIFE is particularly suitable for the production of components that require both the strength and look of a solid panel. Its main advantage is that it can be milled and visibly machined, e.g. for the manufacture of door handles, as its outer and inner sides are made entirely of solid wood.

OAK2LIFE is easy to mechanize

Its creators are confident that this marks the beginning of a new product category:

“OAK2LIFE is causing a stir. It is an innovative product that fills a gap in the market that has gone unnoticed. Until now.”

The product was launched in mid-September and orders had already been placed by the end of the month.

Read the technical data sheet of OAK 2 LIFE

The wood industry needs innovation. The world needs a more circular economy. These two principles, combined with the collaboration of two companies committed to continuous progress in these areas — Maderas Unidas and Grupo Gámiz — have led to the development of this ground-breaking product.

Read all the information about OAK 2 LIFE by downloading its technical data sheet.

OAK 2 LIFE (technical data sheet)

Source: Madera Sostenible.

La entrada OAK 2 LIFE: the first solid oak panel from the circular economy se publicó primero en Grupo Gámiz.

What can you do in Ibiza? That’s what people who haven’t been there ask. “Experience”, respond fans of the island.

Of course, there’s an Ibizan way of life. For some it’s the white clothing, a warm breeze moving the curtains, chill out music while you watch the sunset on the seashore with an Aperol Spritz in your hand…

For others it’s spending the night among friends, staying up til dawn.

For others Ibiza is, quite simply, a dream. Imagine waking up every day every summer in Villa Harmony. What can you do there that you haven’t daydreamed about?

Well, that dream exists. And it’s so special that its exterior flooring, the façade and the interior are all in ACCOYA®, also one of the most special woods in the world.

A natural, sustainable and resistant material, with a 50-year written guarantee

ACCOYA ® is a wood that is modified naturally to improve its resistance, durability and stability. We’ll tell you all about it here, but basically this treatment causes insects to fail to recognise it as food and prevents moulds attacking it.

In short, ACCOYA® is an unbeatable wood for exteriors. This is why architects and construction companies have been using it more and more. For this reason and because it holds the most highly regarded sustainability certification, from the FHS.

Also because the manufacturer provides a fifty-year written guarantee.

Façade, flooring and interior fit for a dream

And if Villa Harmony is a dream house, ACCOYA® wood has done its part. On the exterior it has been used for the flooring and the façade. For the latter in the form of slats, that combine with the decorative stone and control the light entering the house.

Inside, the architects from Candel Arquitectura have also opted for ACCOYA®. In the end, with the doors and windows open, the walls will remain the same despite the inevitable dose of salt residue that gets in.

The finish, the icing on the cake

ACCOYA® is a wood that is also appreciated for the options it provides when choosing the finish. A lot of people like its natural ageing, in which the wood takes on a greyish tone over time.

In the case of Villa Harmony the owners had various options for the finish, for both flooring and façade, and even in the interior, which has an oak varnish finish.

To enjoy all the images of this project,click on this link.

La entrada Somewhere in the Mediterranean se publicó primero en Grupo Gámiz.

The digital transformation has changed our understanding of life, relationships and work. In this regard, in the industrial sphere a true revolution is taking place. The roof tile factories that sprang up alongside our rivers are disappearing, giving way to the new forms of management and production of the so-called Industry 4.0 or Digital Industry.

Within the framework of this new reality, the AEGIS project arises within the Hazitek innovation programme backed by the Basque Government and the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund).

Enovos, Luxemburgo | arch: Jim Clemes | Project: VIGAM: oak glulam

Integration of state-of-the-art technology and market leaders

The IoT, or “internet of things”, refers to the connection of everyday objects with the internet, a link with the purpose of making our daily life more practical, convenient, safe and efficient. In short, this interconnection provides comprehensive knowledge about the objects themselves, their use and their context, to optimise the use we make of them.

In the case of AEGIS, the objective of people’s well-being stems from innovation in the manufacture of the various elements needed in construction and furniture, two areas in which wood, in particular quality certified, sustainable wood, plays a fundamental role.

The AEGIS project centres its efforts on integrating different technologies that make it possible to create healthy buildings and spaces by generating smart infrastructure, advanced solutions for purification and disinfection and developing hygienic surfaces.

To do this, an innovation alliance has been set up comprising leading companies in their respective areas, such as Grupo Gámiz, Orona, Irurena, Airlan, Goizper, Erreka, Ingetek and Dinycon.

Kaiserhof offices, Cologne | arch: msm Meyer Schmitz-Morkramer Rhein GmbH. | Product: VIGAM: oak glulam

The digital transformation is better if it is sustainable

Today, to achieve these safe spaces and buildings, plastic or metal elements have to be included. The day-to-day effort of Grupo Gámiz’s innovation department in the search for sustainability means that our role in this project is primarily focused on providing solutions for integrating electronics into wood so it can be reused once these electronics have reached the end of their useful life.

As the project advances, new digital transformation challenges will arise that will have to be approached from a similarly sustainable perspective. At Grupo Gámiz we are accustomed to seeing the world from this viewpoint since 1942.

La entrada Wood is the perfect solution to bring sustainability to the IoT se publicó primero en Grupo Gámiz.

The fact that wood is a building material experiencing an upturn has been seen for some time. In reality, rather than just a current trend, it would be ideal if sustainable, certified wood with structural capacity were here to stay. In the end, it may well be the material that can best help architecture finally become sustainable architecture.

To the qualities of wood as a natural and ecological material —in addition to beautiful, elegant and warm, of course— we must add technology. Research has helped glulam wood achieve extraordinary levels of structural quality. As proof of this we have VIGAM, the only oak glulam beam in the world with the CE marking for structural use, designed and manufactured by Grupo Gámiz. As well as this project that we’re talking about today.

Tübingen City Hall | Arch: a+r Architekten GmbH | Product: VIGAM: Oak glulam.

‘Wood IoT Wall’. A step further in energy efficiency

We know that wooden curtain walling provides greater efficiency than conventional curtain walling (concrete, steel, aluminium, etc.). The Wood IoT Wall project aims to go even further, an ambitious objective funded by the Basque Government and the ERDF through the Hazitek programme. 

Compared to curtain walling models used currently Wood IoT Wall differs in the concept of its design with emerging technologies and capacities. For example, the project anticipates the generation of a complex BIM objective of curtain walling, as well as a digital twin for smart management of this curtain walling, and provision of knowledge, traceability and action on aspects of the structure related to energy efficiency: ventilation, shade, lighting, temperature, etc.

To make this reality, this adventure has participants who are exceptional in the world of construction, wood, industry and research. Grupo Gámiz is accompanied by Uxama, Carpintería Irastorza, Genelek and Tecnalia.

Smart curtain walling has to be wood

Today wooden curtain walling is the sustainable alternative to other applications with materials that are less respectful of the environment. This sustainability is also related to efficiency, as shown by the protagonism of wood in passivhaus buildings.

Agricultural centre, Salez | Arch: Andy Senn Architektur GmbH. | Product: VIGAM

So it is logical that when studying the creation of smart wooden curtain walling wood is the main material, like in this project, Wood IoT Wall, in which GRUPO GÁMIZ is participating with its R&D department… and with all the enthusiasm of people working here. We’ll keep you informed!

La entrada Innovation: GRUPO GÁMIZ is participating in a smart curtain walling project se publicó primero en Grupo Gámiz.

It is very likely that if you invite us to think about beams, we think of straight lines. Nevertheless, the current possibilities of glued laminated timber or glulam, allow architects let their imagination loose, beyond the limits set by traditional manufacture methods.

It is currently possible to commission and create custom curved or cylindrical beams. An increase in the creative and functional possibilities of oak glulam beams that, in addition, provides the added value of supporting sustainable architecture projects more than ever.

Curved oak beams

Two Germans, Michael Thonet and Otto Hetzer, were the pioneers of curved wood. The former, famous for his Thonet chairs, was the first, in 1841, to patent a method for curving wood using heat. Hetzer, in turn, may be considered the creator of glulam wood. In 1906 he patented the first curved beams in glulam wood.

The production technique for glulam timber has evolved to date, where the commitment to innovation by manufacturers such as Grupo Gámiz is still providing creators with solutions, especially in the area of design and sustainability.

Newsstand in Plaza Mayor in Ampuero (Cantabria). Roof constructed with curved oak glulams

Cylindrical oak beams

The curve of oak glulam beams may be longitudinal or total. The creation of cylindrical pillars or columns of glulam wood ad hoc is a resource used more and more frequently by architects seeking resistance, beauty and versatility in their restoration or new-build projects.

Refurbishment of the Santa María cathedral in Vitoria-Gasteiz | Arch: Leandro Cámara | Product: curved oak glulams

Stairways, façades, wooden curtain walling, large curved beams or curved beams for interior design or decoration are some of the proposals that are possible using oak glulam beams.

At Grupo Gámiz it is possible to order custom curved and cylindrical beams that, although they do not have the CE marking for structural use (something that their straight counterparts VIGAM do have) they are able to provide function and decoration to a multitude of timber projects that seek original and sustainable design alternatives.

La entrada The curves of innovation se publicó primero en Grupo Gámiz.

Any enthusiast knows that wine is usually aged in barrels made of oak (French or American). Nevertheless, this essential part of the art of producing wine arose by chance. The Romans, who stored wine in clay amphorae, upon arriving in Gaul, discover that the contemporaries of Asterix and Obelix preferred to do so in oak barrels. The Romans, kings of the world at the time, converted this Gaulish speciality (based on their mastery in curving wood) into standard practice, as this storage method contributed to speed and savings: the barrels could be transported by rolling and did not break.

One day, after some years, someone realised that wine that had spent time in these oak barrels tasted better. And so began oenology. This shows that the two most important things that foster progress may well be creativity and luck. There is a third thing that makes the other two more productive: everyday hard work, dedication, passion. Only then is it possible to innovate and encourage concepts such as sustainable architecture. Designing and building with respect for the environment.

VIGAM: the scent of oak covers it all

Oak has a special class. The resistance and beauty of this unique wood is the hallmark of architecture projects that aspire to permanence and elegance. Wine culture is no exception. The most highly regarded architects are consolidating the image of exquisiteness and a taste for work well done, love for detail, transmitted by the wine industry.

The legendary wineries of Vega Sicilia, for example, with the designation of origin Ribera del Duero, cover their production plants with beautiful oak roofs made with VIGAM, the only oak glulam beam in the world with the CE marking for structural use. Beauty, resistance and stability are assured. And the pleasant scent of oak is all around, in every corner.

Vega Sicilia wineries production plants | Executed with VIGAM by TRC Estructuras de madera | Product: Oak glulam

Sustainable architecture is also innovative

Many other winery projects all over the world are examples of innovation in architecture. Frank Gehry, Norman Foster, and Renzo Piano great architects who have let themselves be conquered by the possibilities of design and creativity of a culture that, like architecture, always looks to the future with creativity and sustainability.

As shown by the roofs of this winery, projects using VIGAM achieve spectacular aesthetic results thanks to the capacity for innovation in architecture and construction. In this regard, VIGAM beams are ideal for creating ecological wooden curtain walling, in other words, building lightweight façade in one hundred percent sustainable wood.

La entrada Wine and oak: inseparable se publicó primero en Grupo Gámiz.

The “ring model” or “doughnut model”, created by the Oxford economist Kate Raworth, is the inspiration for Amsterdam’s plan to design a city based on the circular economy. The aim of the authorities of the Dutch capital is to come out of the recession caused by the coronavirus with a vision committed to the environment that successfully fosters economic reactivation.

It is a proactive and ecological response to the debacle caused by Covid-19. Looking to the future full of confidence in the socioeconomic results of a sustainable commitment in the medium and long term.

Regarding sustainable architecture, one of the measures already presented by Marieke van Doorninck, deputy mayor of Amsterdam, is the creation of the “materials passport”, that which aims to seek reusable materials in demolitions and promote the use of sustainable materials, such as wood, in the construction of the new buildings.

Amsterdam on the river Amstel

Objective: to get out of the hole

Kate Rawoth’s theory states that socioeconomic success must be shaped like a doughnut. The inner ring is what we need to live better than now: nothing more nothing less than meeting the sustainable development goals of the UNO (foods, health, education, equality, income, housing, etc.). Not enjoying these minimums cancels the concept of well-being and places us, literally, in a hole (the doughnut hole).

The outer ring is the limit of well-being that humanity can aspire to without damaging the environment. From this perspective it can be deduced that general well-being is located in the middle (ground) of the doughnut, where the needs of living beings and the planet in general are satisfied fairly.

Construction in wood, one of the keys to Amsterdam’s plan

Focusing on architecture and sustainability, within this plan, wood becomes a key component. A construction component, in fact. The deputy mayor Ms van Doorninck states that the city will regulate that the construction materials used most frequently are recycled or natural, and biologically based such as wood.

Aside from the terrible aftereffects of the coronavirus, Amsterdam has a serious housing problem, and constructing most buildings traditionally, for example using materials such as steel and concrete, would radically increase the local CO2 emissions, already very worrying, that are up by 31% in the city since the 1990s.

Floating wooden house in Amsterdam

Wood reduces carbon dioxide emissions

Wood is fundamental in Amsterdam’s plan because building with wood drastically reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Studies state that replacing steel and concrete with wooden structures could reduce CO2 emissions by between 14% and 31% worldwide.

The explanation lies, in addition to the virtues of its cell structure (wood absorbs CO2, making air healthier), in the minimal energy generated in its production. Unlike other materials such as steel and aluminium, wood products avoid greenhouse gases in their manufacturing process.

Oak forest

Sustainability is beautiful and creative

Many architects design their projects with ecological responsibility. Today it is much easier with the structural possibilities of wood, which makes it possible to develop sustainable construction solutions full of creativity, warmth and natural beauty. 

One example is wooden curtain walling. Thanks to products such as VIGAM, the only oak glulam beam in the world with the CE marking for structural use, by GRUPO GÁMIZ, lightweight façades all over the world are starting to acquire the unique personality and elegance of wood, and saved from other materials with a less ecological footprint, such as steel and aluminium.

Cambridge Biomedical Campus | Arch: Herzog & de Meuron | Product: Application of curtain wall – Oak glulam

Architects also have access to ACCOYA® sustainable wood, the perfect product for exterior construction. This acetylated wood (a toxin-free process) has a written 50-year guarantee.

In short, it will be solutions like these that help architects all over the world to build post-coronavirus Amsterdam.

La entrada Amsterdam reinvents itself as a doughnut se publicó primero en Grupo Gámiz.