At the head of one of the pioneers of timber construction, Guillaume Poitrinal has set up a scientific committee to demonstrate the benefits of wood on well-being in the workplace. The results are in line with the growing ecological awareness of managers and employees alike.

As a company director, how do you feel about the power and usefulness of the office?

Office spaces are much more than alignments of workstations. They enable total, multi-sensory and behavioural communication. You can see your neighbour in three dimensions, whereas a computer screen is limited to two. Communication, which is and will continue to be the alpha and omega of business performance, is much more comprehensive, intense and immediate in a face-to-face environment. from a distance. Motivation and co-creativity are also key factors for success in a world that demands ever greater agility. Last but not least, the head office is also a company manifesto. For many companies, particularly in the service sector, their offices are the transcription of their values and extra-financial missions. A company's head office is a powerful way of showing its customers, shareholders, partners and job applicants what it is all about. It demonstrates its commitments, particularly with regard to the environment.

Wood is becoming increasingly popular in the commercial property sector: why have you chosen this material?

There have been several stages. With Philippe Zivkovic, we created WO2 (Woodeum's parent company) in 2014 at a time when developers thought that designing low-energy buildings or obtaining international labels was enough. No one was concerned about CO2 emissions. The lowest kWh per m2 was the priority, whatever the carbon cost. Our priority was to measure the building's carbon footprint as accurately and independently as possible over its life cycle.. Our initiatives were quickly overtaken by the work of the BBCA association, which launched its label in conjunction with the CSTB, and then by the French government and the DHUP with the E+C- label and the RE2020. Wood is a renewable material. Its carbon footprint is reversed: it stores carbon while concrete emits it. At WO2, we only build low-carbon constructions in which wood is the main structural component.

Together with Nicolas Laisné, you set up a protocol for integrating health and well-being into office design. How did you go about it?

A lot of people said to me: "Apart from the ecological issue, I prefer wood, I love wood, I love the atmosphere of chalets". So we wanted to add a scientific dimension to these empirical observations and feelings, in order to accurately assess the health and well-being benefits of wooden buildings. We worked with a biologist, a professor of medicine at the University of Nantes... We have published a study in which we summarise the scientific studies carried out on the benefits of wood on stress, heart rate and concentration. The results are impressive.

Are companies playing their part in terms of social and environmental responsibility?

Companies have realised that we are moving from one world to another. However, not all companies are at the same level of maturity with regard to this awareness. They are all communicating on the subject, but you only have to visit the head offices of companies in the Paris Region to realise that there is a great deal of room for improvement. Young people have a real ecological conscience and want to be more open to the outside world, closer to nature, more comfortable and more open to interaction. Which, let's be honest, doesn't exactly resemble the existing office stock. 80 to 90 % of the 30 million square metres of office space in the Paris region do not meet these emerging aspirations. Even if teleworking gains in popularity, it will never be exclusive. Offices will need to be adapted to changing working patterns and growing environmental awareness. There will be a huge need for investment to adapt existing buildings and build the environmentally-friendly, low-energy offices that everyone is waiting for.

Guillaume Poitrinal, co-founder of Woodeum and WO2