Bloch and the Wood Conference: A Shared Anniversary
It is a piece of nature, a sustainable material – and a global art project: Bloch. The Bloch timber log travels around the world to represent the possibilities of wood. This is also the mission of the Wood Conference.
This year, there is a reason to celebrate: both the Wood Conference and Bloch were launched in 2011 and are now marking their 15th anniversary.
The anniversary edition of the Wood Conference 2026 is still vividly remembered. In 2011, the conference began its success story in South Africa, and since its inception it has been promoting the potential of timber construction in South Africa. The first edition was dedicated to the topic “Wood as a universal material for innovative, sustainable and modern architecture.” To this day, it addresses industry leaders, innovators, and visionaries. The advancement of timber construction and sustainable development across sub-Saharan Africa are being actively promoted.
Bloch – when wood goes on tour
In 2011, a timber log also began its international journey from Switzerland out into the world. The project is called Bloch and symbolises the durability of wood and timber construction as a whole. The Bloch log demonstrates – just like the Wood Conference – what can be achieved with wood.
This is particularly true for the South African timber industry.
This symbolic overlap of shared goals between the Wood Conference and Bloch did not end there. In 2017, the well-travelled log also stopped in Cape Town during its global journey. Its appearance at the 7th Wood Conference is still remembered today.
To mark the shared 15-year anniversary of both the Bloch project and the Wood Conference, our trainee media technician Leandro Cardinale created a video – a retrospective of an remarkable journey with an international vision.