Leko Labs, which describes itself as a “carbon-negative construction company”, has developed a new system for walls and flooring based exclusively on wood and wood fibre that could replace up to 75% of the concrete and steel currently used in construction. Leko Labs' building materials make use of the optimisation of artificial intelligence and robotic manufacturing.
The cross-laminated system patented by the Luxembourg-based startup is the first wood-based construction method in the world to combine structural and insulation performance with acoustic, thermal, and static properties. Compared to conventional walls, Leko Labs walls are up to 40% thinner and use half as much wood. The company has designed software to automate several crucial stages of the design process, including the optimisation of the finished wood volume, the automatic calculation of thermal transmittance, and the detection of wood defects.
The system, designed for production, assembly, and disassembly, is highly automated to enable on-demand customised prefabrication of building parts. Thanks to digital thread and ML-based calculation algorithms, each architectural project can be transformed into building components in the Leko Robofactory. Founded in 2017, the Foetz-based company can thus build the necessary components for an apartment in six hours, for a home in a day, and for a larger building in four days.
Leko Labs founder François Cordier defines the company’s approach as “automotive and guided by robotics”. With components such as walls prefabricated off-site and delivered to the installation location, construction times can be cut in half compared to traditional methods. The startup closed a round of Series A financing last year having raised 21 million dollars.
Name:
Sector:
Components for construction
Pros:
Automation of construction methods through the optimisation of artificial intelligence and robotics
Features:
Sustainable wood-based construction materials as an alternative to steel and concrete
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Images: Leko Lab