Three authors are inaugurating this first edition of the Ibois notebooks,, the biannual editorial initiative of the EPFL laboratory dedicated to innovative wood construction: Françoise Fromonot revisits the heroic epic of Jørn Utzon and what he tried, and failed, to realise during the construction of the Sydney Opera House. Stéphane Berthier offers a rather complete panorama of the place of the Ibois in the constellation of laboratories developing computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques. As for Yann Rocher, he strives to establish the many constructive and symbolic links between the material used to build the wooden Pavilion of the Théâtre de Vidy and its function as a stage.