Portal de Turismo de Castilla y León

Welcome to the Wooden Visitors’ Centre, in Comunero de Revenga, in Burgos.

The Wooden Visitors’ Centre is a multidisciplinary building which functions as an exhibition and education centre. As well as its permanent exhibition, it also has seasonal exhibitions showing paintings, sculptures, photography or environmental topics. They periodically offer educative courses, workshops, family-friendly cultural and leisure activities.

Go to the Wooden Visitors’ Centre. To do so, you can take the wooden stairs or the soil ramp that goes around them.

To the left of the main façade, there are various rooms made from upright and laid down logs, stacked in the form of a mountain.

Just before you go in, you can find two vending machines with water and soft drinks.

Now, go in the entrance.

When you go in, there is a reception desk where you find leaflets with interesting information.

To the right, there are stands where you can buy t-shirts or souvenirs.

At the end of the room. there is a left and staircase leading to the upper floor.

If needed, the toilets are on either side of the lift.

When you go past the souvenir shop, there is a door which leads to a corridor with images, plans and information displayed from the construction of this centre.

On the wall, there is a sign hanging with the plans of the centre. It is a building with 6 rectangular rooms, arranged one next to the other. Just below, there are images of the construction: various piles of logs, the concrete beam foundation, the interior structure of the boxes and the wooden structure.

To the right of this sign, there are more construction plans and four celluloid film photos: the wooden formwork, the covering of the wooden cubes, the inside of the cubes and the cladding.

On this panel are two more signs. The first one shows a plan of the finished centre and images of the machinery and materials used in its construction. The second sign shows more plans and photographs of the construction, with more machinery and logs.

Leave the corridor and go back to the reception area. Go up to the first floor.

The first floor is a small room with windows, through which you can see the pine forests.

It is a multi-use space which is normally used for seasonal exhibitions, but it is also used for workshops.

Now, go back down to the reception area.

To the left of the main entrance, when you come into the centre, there is an announcements board and a 3D plan of the building.

Beside the map, there is a gap in the wall which leads to room 2.

In the middle of the room, there is sign hanging and a tree.

The tour starts in the middle of the room, with the white sign hanging from the ceiling.

Wood appeared 400 million years ago and allowed trees to reach great heights and conquer the land.

The trees provide wood, and also have a fundamental role on the planet as carbon dioxide fixers, producing oxygen and aiding in the prevention of climate change.

On the panel, there is a photo of the fruits from two trees: a pinecone from a pine tree and acorns from a sessile oak.

Pinecones have a surprisingly complex and beautiful structure which holds their seeds. They are made up of numerous wooden scales spiralled around a central axis. Each scale protects a seed or two, and once the pine cone matures, it opens to let them out. These structures are not only essential for pine trees’ reproduction, but they also play an important role for the forest’s ecology, providing food for different woodland species.

Acorns are oval-shaped with a rough outer shell in earth tones, which protects the inside of the seed. The lower part of the acorn is usually covered in a small cup, which resembles a tiny crown. This modest fruit, often overlooked, is essential in forests, as it is a vital food source for different fauna species.

The back of this sign has images of tree trunks, an axe and a dry tree, as well as two famous quotes and a poem by Antonio Machado which translates as:

The tall oak tree seems

to emphasise and stop growing

its strength like an athlete

which, upright, settles into the ground.

The pine tree is the sea and the sky

and the mountain: the planet.

The palm tree is the desert,

the sun and the distance,

the thirst; a cold fountain

dreamed of in the dead land.

The beech trees are legends.

Someone, in the old beech trees,

read a horrendous story

of crimes and battles.

Now go over to the tree trunk with roots on a pedestal.

The tree roots are a fundamental part of their structure, playing crucial roles in the absorption of nutrients, attaching to the ground and storing energy. Extending into an intricate network underground, the roots search for water, minerals and other essential elements for the growth and development of the tree. There are two main types of roots: fibrous roots, which are thinner and grow in all directions near the surface, and main roots, which are thicker and deeper. The roots also play a crucial role in the stability of three tree as it roots it to the ground, preventing erosion. The roots also establish a symbiosis with fungi and bacteria.

The tree trunk is the central structure which provides support, transports nutrients and stores reserves. Made of lignin and cellulose, they are made from concentric layers of wood and bark. As well as their structural function, trunks can have tissue which stores nutrients, such is the case in some fruit trees. In summary, the trunk is an essential component which sustains life and the growth of the tree.

A tree’s leaves are crucial organs which play a fundamental role in photosynthesis and the regulation of gaseous exchanges of CO2, oxygen and vapour. These structures are generally thin and flat and have a wide variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the species. Inside the leaves, there is a network of veins which transport water and nutrients from the roots to the rest of the plant. The chloroplasts, located in the leaf cells, have chlorophyll, the pigment which allows light to be captured during photosynthesis. During this process, the leaves turn solar energy into carbohydrates, releasing oxygen as a by-product.

Continue over to the wall to your right, as you enter the room.

Three vertical panels extend here. The central one is a screen which summarises the life of a tree.

There are signs on both sides on some wooden boards. There is a conifer species, the European red pine, and a leafy tree, the sessile oak.

The first one is about the red pine forests, which are predominant in the area. Their wood has been used for multiple applications, as Máximo Laguna said in 1884: "from the modest boards of a poor man’s bed to the tycoon’s office desk".

The Wooden Visitors’ Centre used approximately 720 tonnes of wood with the trusted "Pino Soria Burgos".

The next sign is about the sessile oak, which, although is rare in the region, fills the forests with beauty where it is.

In the past, when naval construction used wood for their boars, sessile oak was very highly valued. To build a 650 tonne galleon, they needed up to 900 sessile oak trees.

After the wooden panels, there are four boxes which explain the processes that the roots use to pump water from the ground to their leaves.

Did you know that roots can send 400 metres of crude sap to the top of the tree?

This is due to four factors:

The first is the capillarity. Crude sap rises in very narrow tubes which allows them to travel up various metres.

The second is the pressure in the roots. Molecules of water and other substances are constantly moving into the roots through their absorbent hairs. These molecules which move in, create a pressure from below to above, causing the molecules to move upwards.

The third is the cohesion of water molecules. Water molecules, which are the main component of crude sap, attract one another. The union of these molecules causes the sap to rise higher and higher.

Lastly, the transpiring of the leaves. The elimination of vapour through the stomas of the leaves during photosynthesis created a vacuum or a suction force which causes sap to be drawn up.

Next, you will see a mural about photosynthesis.

In the middle panel there is an interactive activity where the process of photosynthesis is explained.

What is photosynthesis? Photosynthesis happens in two stages.

In the first, sunlight is absorbed by chlorophyll which turns it into chemical energy. The water molecule breaks and the oxygen is released, while the hydrogen combines with other energy-charged molecules.

In the second, the energy-charged molecules modify the Co2 that has been absorbed from the exterior, combining it with the hydrogen from the water that was obtained in the previous stage to form glucose through a series of chain reactions.

Thanks to photosynthesis, plants create organic material from inorganic material, supporting the diets of other living beings.

In trees, this process happens in the leaves and consists of the transformation of crude sap, made of mineral salts and water, into elaborated sap which is made of sugars, amino acids and other nitrogen-rich substances, coming from atmospheric CO2 and with the help of solar energy. Oxygen is the waste product of the process.

Trees use atmospheric CO2 which is generated in part by the uncontrolled use of fossil fuels, turning it into wood, fighting climate change caused by the excess levels of this gas in the atmosphere.

The European red pine woods in this region take in approximately 450,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, which is a quarter of the CO2 emitted by cars in the Castilla and León region in a year.

Interestingly, a kilogram of wood can store up to 1.46kg of CO2, and a hectare of woods can give off 10 tonnes of oxygen.

Go over to the three panels with images of wood.

The tree trunk is made of woody fibres, whose main function is to support. The more fibres the trunk has, the harder the wood will be. They are also made of woody rays that store and transport the nutrients via veins, which are used to transport crude sap.

Using the example of a sessile oak trunk and a black pine trunk, you can divide them in different layers from external to internal:

The first is the bark. Its function is to protect the tree from unfavourable environmental conditions, plague attacks, diseases and fire. Next is the cambium. This layer is responsible for the thickness of the tree. Next is the sapwood, which is the newest, lightest wood which transports water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves. Next, closer to the centre, is the heartwood. This is the oldest, hardest, most resistant and darkest wood. Its cells are only there to support, because they have lost their ability to transport sap. Lastly, in the centre of the trunk, is the pith. This is the oldest wood in the tree, surrounded by the first growth rings.

Now, on the left wall, there is a touch screen with an interactive game about wood.

Here, there is a map of the different heights of the vegetation. LIDAR technology, an innovative forest inventory system, was used for this. Currently, the largest project in Southern Europe was carried out in the Pinares region in Burgos. It uses an aerial radar which sends out 50,000 laser impulses per second which determine the exact parameters of the heights.

LIDAR maps the area, taking into account the short grasses, meadows, trees under 5 metres tall, trees from 7 to 12 metres tall, 10 to 20 metres tall and 20 to 30 metres tall.

By combining this system with other studies, they can obtain extensive and exhaustive information which allows them to quantify the volume of wood, and therefore, the amount of CO2 that the trees are fixing.

The sustainable exploitation of these mountains guarantees the compatibility between the production and conservation of the ecosystems. More wood than what is produced in year cannot be taken from the mountain, guaranteeing all of the environmental benefits that the forests provide for society.

Three entities ensure that this happens:

The first is called "Urbión Model Mountain". It is a voluntary social, economic and environmental forces association from 15 municipalities in Burgos and 20 in Soria, whose goal is to work together in favour of sustainable management of the forest and its territory. They cover an area of 100,000 hectares, the largest continuous forest in the Iberian Peninsula.

The second is the forest certification which ensures that the products have been obtained from well managed forests from an economic, social and environmental point of view. The mountains in this territory have a PEFC certification.

The last one, is the Soria-Burgos Pine Guarantee. This identifies high quality European red pine wood coming from Sierra de Urbión, la Demanda and Cebollera which has follows rigorous controls which make this wood a unique product.

Leave the first room. Now, you will come to a space which connects room 1 and room 2.

This space has signs about the marks on different trunks and a xylotheque made of logs and large windows.

From the corridor, known as "viewpoint 1", you can see the pine forest surrounding the centre.

These trees reach towards the cry, creating a dense and organised forest covering. The perennial pine needles lend a constant green to the forest throughout the year, contributing to its characteristic appearance.

On the ground, it is common to find a carpet of fallen needles, which acts as a natural blanket. As well as pine trees, the forest has a variety of shrubs, plants and grasses which adapt to the climate in the region. The presence of diverse fauna, such as birds, mammals and insects which specialise in coniferous habitats, bring life to the environment.

As you move through the room, you will see signs hanging from the logs that make up the walls. They show the marks when a tree is cut.

The first sign invites you to count the rings of the trunk. Each one represents the growth of the tree in a year, so if you count the rings, you will have an estimate of how old the tree was when it was cut down. In this case, this pine tree was 190 years old, meaning it was already growing in 1820.

The next panel explains how a tree grows towards the south. The heart of the log is not in the centre, it is to one side. Trees, just like other plants, tend to grow in the direction where they can get the most sunlight, and they grow more towards the south in the northern hemisphere.

The next sign shows the mark that lightening has left on a trunk. The trees are targets for the lightening essentially due to their height. A tree that has been hit by lightening can recover, but it will have a vertical scar.

This next one highlights the drops of resin coming out of the trunk. Resin is a substance which trees produce as protection against physical damage, such as a cut, wound or tear. It has coagulating and healing properties, stopping damaging organisms from getting in.

To the left, there is another one which shows a pine which has been attacked by the Phellinus pini fungus which breaks down the lignin in the trunk and causes serious damage to wood.

On the opposite wall, the one connected to room 1, you can see another, which highlights the difference between sapwood and heartwood. Sapwood is made of cells whose main function is to transport water and nutrients from the roots to the leaves. The heartwood, on the other hand, is darker and made of cells which have lost their ability to transport sap and is the oldest part of the tree trunk.

Next, the last panel highlights the knots on the trunk. These knots are marks produced by old branches which fell. The scars which remained on the trunk were surrounded by wood as the tree thickened. The knots modify the characteristics of the wood, both its appearance and its resistance.

Now you will see the xylotheque in front of the glass walls, made of different trunk cuts.

To the right, you will see a maple, black pine, black poplar and European red pines.

The maple stands out in the forest due to its spectacular autumn colours. The high density and sound properties of its wood mean that it is often used to make musical instruments. The famous Stradivarius violins were the first to use maple wood.

The black pine stands out due to its resin production. To harvest it, they make cuts in the trunk where it slowly seeps out until it reaches a clay container which stores it until it is periodically collected. Their wood is poorer quality than European red pine.

Black poplar is a loyal companion to the Castilla landscape, in rivers and riverbanks. The famous Mona Lisa is painted on a black poplar panel.

Lastly, the European red pine is easily identifiable by the orange colour of its trunk. It is very common in this area and the region is named after it. Its versatile wood is used in many commercial applications.

Now, go to the opposite side of the room where you can find another four different trunks from a sessile oak, beech tree, radiata pine tree and a chestnut tree.

Sessile oak wood has been used for wine barrels since Roman times. It gives a refreshed texture and aroma to wine while it ages.

Beech trees are famous because they make the most of every bit of sunlight, they don’t allow anything to grow below their leafy tops. The wood from the oldest trees has a red heart due to a fungus infection.

The radiata pine is originally from California. It was introduced to Spain during the second half of the 19th century, and nowadays it is extensive across the Cantabrian corniche. It is very economically important due to its rapid growth. It can reach a diameter of 50 centimetres in 40 years.

The last one is a chestnut tree trunk. Romans distributed chestnut trees thoroughly throughout Europe and extended their population due to the importance of the chestnut in their diet. Their wood is very durable and is used for furniture, construction and even in fishing equipment.

Now, go into room 2. In the middle, there are two informative signs and along the walls there are samples of treated wood on display. Between the samples there are some benches where you can rest.

The sign in the middle of the room shows images of buildings made from wood.

Humans have used wood for their daily needs, but also to make technically advanced products.

With 800 buildings, 9000 residents and at over 600 years old, the Forbidden City of Beijing has the largest site of wooden buildings in the world. It is an example of the durability and capacity of wood as a construction part.

Civil engineering has also been innovated with wood, for example the bridge over the A-7 motorway in Holland. This is the first motorway bridge designed to withstand standard road traffic loads. As well as the aesthetic element, wood offers new solutions such as double curvature surfaces using laminated wood.

Lastly, wood can be used as an alternative to fossil fuels. Wood remains from clearings, pruning and sawmills is used more and more as a fuel. This is doubly advantageous over oil, coal and natural gas: it reduces the pollution released into the atmosphere and minimises the energy dependence on other countries, as it is a local product which is no imported.

The back of the sign shows structures and a bridge made of wood.

On the wall to the right, there is a transparent plastic sign hanging on the wall.

Wood is one of the most sustainable construction materials for various reasons: it comes from a renewable source, it doesn’t pollute, it uses less energy being processes, compared to other materials like steel, concrete, aluminium and plastic. Once it is no longer useful, it can be recovered and recycled. It helps in the conservation of ecosystems and represents an important economic resource for rural populations.

Continue to the first display, where there are four devices which show the properties of wood.

Some woods can be bent or curved without breaking and it can even exceed its elasticity limit without immediately breaking. This property makes it useful for the construction of shaped structures.

Next, there is an apparatus in a wooden box, with a button in the middle. When you press it, a heat mechanism turns out which expands a metal bar. Along with this bar, there is a wooden one which stays intact. This reflects the fact that wood is a material which widely resists heat expansion.

In case of fire, a metal structure will collapse due to the expansion of the metal. However, a wooden structure is more likely to last until the fire has ended, as only the perimeter burns, as the interior is not in contact with the air.

The next element references the resistance of the material. There is a box made of wood and plastic with a hammer inside. When you press the button, it hits a piece of wood from an olive tree, one of the hardest woods on the Iberian peninsula.

The older and harder the wood, the higher its resistance. If it is subjected to simple maintenance treatments, it becomes a very long-lasting material.

Wooden buildings that are over 700 years old, where people still live today, show their long, useful life.

The last device shows thermal resistance. Place your hands on the two plaques and you will see that the metal plaque is hotter than the wood, this is because wood is a good thermal insulator. Its atomic structure and lignin and cellulose composition mean that wood is an excellent thermal insulator.

Next, there are two signs with information and a display with a mosaic of different types of wood that you can touch.

Wood is a noble material which is used in construction and is not affected by the passage of time. It is present everywhere in our homes, forming part of the structure as beams, grounds and wooden flooring. It is also used to decorate, as frames, doorjambs, door frames and windows.

If you continue along the wall, you will come to a small corner dedicated to wood as a combustible. There are four main elements:

Briquettes are large cylinders made from compacted and compressed wood chips, to be used in boilers.

Pellets are compressed material made from small wood shavings. It is the material used in the Wooden Visitors’ Centre to heat the rooms through an underfloor heating system.

Charcoal is widely used as a combustible and in the metallurgical industry due to its high carbon levels and its ability to efficiently generate heat.

Firewood, dried wood, is traditionally used for heating and in the kitchen.

The next display shows 4 wooden boards and two interactive elements.

The first one compares wood and metal as acoustic insulators. When you move the top board, a bell rings. Compare the sound it makes with the metal plaque compared to the wooden plaque. The wood is good at absorbing sounds, even more so if there is empty space between the boards, or if insulating material is added.

The last element is a scale which compares a cube of concrete and a cube of wood. Compared to other materials like concrete, wood is able to support heavier loads in relation to its weight. Concrete slabs can weigh the same amount as they can support, however a wooden one only weighs 20% of the load. Its high resistance and low density make it perfect for large structures which don’t need intermediate pillars.

It also saves energy and has a lower carbon footprint as the weight to be transported is lower.

Continue over to a structure with wooden beams, forming a corridor. Between the beams there are signs hanging which show projects related to wood.

A good example is the "build with wood" competition, where the construction of a canopy at the Pepe Rojo de Valladolid rugby field that would combine the constructive viability of a wooden structure with the symbolism, representing the strength and balance of rugby.

The back shows finished wooden buildings, such as the Seashell House in Finland, the Íscar castle in Valladolid, Berlin public park, a single-family home in Vacarisses, Barcelona and the Asturias footbridge.

The adjacent wall has an interactive screen with games and activities with more information about the Wooden Visitors’ Centre.

Now, leave this room and go into the next one.

This second viewpoint has some wooden sculptures, such as a dragon, a perched eagle and a flying eagle, a faun grazing and Mickey Mouse.

On the opposite wall, as you come in, there is a xylophone made of wood from a chestnut tree, which you can play with drumsticks.

The natural characteristics of the wood make it perfect for making string instruments, such as guitars, wind instruments, such as the clarinet, and percussion instruments, such as the xylophone. There still has not been an artificial material which achieves such a pure and brilliant sound as the one achieved with wood.

The xylophone is a musical instrument made from wooden plates on a keyboard. The different musical notes are achieved thanks to the shape and size of the plates because as they get higher, they get shorter and thinner.

This is where the Wooden Visitors’ Centre’s permanent exhibition ends. If you continue into the next room, you will find yourself in a rectangular room, where there are different seasonal exhibitions throughout the year.

Leave this exhibition and you will come to the last viewpoint.

This audio track ends your visit to the Wooden Visitors’ Centre, where you have learned a little more about this material, the lives of trees and their use in construction and daily life.

To exit the Wooden Visitors’ Centre, go back through all of the doors you have come through, to the reception lobby.

If you would like more information, you can go to the display at reception or talk to any of the centre’s collaborators.

Thanks for your visit.