To mitigate the wood waste problem in landfills, this paper introduces Project (Un)Build, a timber construction system that enables reversible assembly using non-invasive strapping and friction pads instead of conventional fasteners. Conventional joining methods, such as nails and screws, make timber disassembly labor-intensive and damaging, thereby limiting the reuse of wood. In contrast to high-tech visions of circularity centered on data-driven tracking systems, this project offers a low-tech, bottom-up approach emphasizing technical simplicity, material exchangeability, and workforce adaptability. After contextualizing the proposed construction method within a lineage of design-for-disassembly strategies, the paper presents results from empirical load testing and the construction of a full-scale prototype. Findings demonstrate that strapped joints can achieve structural viability, allowing for easy disassembly and full material recovery.
