Strong by Form: An Interview with CEO Andrés Mitnik on Rethinking Materials
21 Mar 2025
This article is part of a series where we speak with experts and corporate entrepreneurs about the circular economy to share insights from multiple perspectives. Opinions expressed are not necessarily our own, but we aim to foster debate and collaboration by showcasing the work of those leading exciting projects in this space.
How do you create a radically different construction material—and then actually get it into the market? For Andres Mitnik, co-founder of Strong by Form, this question has guided a journey across architecture, venture capital, and industrial partnerships. His startup is pioneering bio-based composite materials to replace concrete and metal, starting with something as classic—and overlooked—as wood. In this interview, we talk about innovation cycles in the built environment, the power of alliances, and how Strong by Form is pushing the limits of what’s possible in construction and mobility.
The global built environment is responsible for nearly 40% of annual global energy and process-related CO₂ emissions, with cement alone contributing over 8%—more than the entire aviation industry. Concrete, steel, and other conventional building materials are carbon-intensive and difficult to recycle, perpetuating a system of waste and environmental degradation. As urbanisation accelerates demand for building materials is expected to double by 2060, placing even greater pressure on ecosystems and global carbon budgets. According to the International Energy Agency, shifting to low-carbon construction and circular materials could cut emissions from this industry by 38% by 2050.
Andrés Mitnik
So how can we reinvent the materials that shape our cities and infrastructure?
Enter Strong by Form, a startup turning natural fibers into high-performance materials to replace concrete, steel, and composites—beginning with the humble but powerful potential of wood. Andres Mitnik, co-founder of the company, joins us to share how they’re making that vision a reality—blending advanced manufacturing, deep sustainability, and an unorthodox go-to-market strategy that challenges how we think about innovation in hard-to-crack sectors.
To visit Andrés’s LinkedIn profile click here. To visit Strong by Form’s website click here.
Let’s start with the origin story—how did Strong by Form come about?
It began with one of my co-founders, Jorge, who was at ETH Zurich trying to create the most efficient structural floor slab—not just sustainable, but incredibly material-efficient. He got into carbon fiber for its strength-to-weight ratio, but quickly realized that we could never build the world from carbon fiber—it's polluting and expensive.
So the idea was: can we do this with natural fibers instead? He teamed up with Daniel, another co-founder with experience in manufacturing, and they started to explore how to manipulate wood in advanced ways. That’s how the idea of 3D wood—building up instead of milling down—emerged. When they felt the idea was viable, they brought me in to help turn it into a business. We’d all known each other since university.
From the beginning, we had this strong focus on impact. We knew the built environment was one of the hardest sectors to tackle, but the potential was massive. We were all over 40 when we started, which helped—we had experience, and we knew how to move fast. Our first logo came together in 15 minutes just to get a LinkedIn page up. It’s been a story of resourcefulness from day one.
CPO, Jorge Christie Remy-Maillet; CTO, Daniel Ortiz del Río; and CEO, Andrés Mitnik Asun
Construction is famously slow-moving and conservative. How have you navigated that?
We’re trying to do in 10 years what normally takes 30 to 40. So we had to find ways to accelerate the process. One was visibility—we made our products visually striking, especially the architectural elements. That got attention.
For example, Vinci—the world’s largest construction company—invested in us after seeing our work. They understood our strategy: use early-stage products to fund long-term innovation. At the same time, we realised that smaller, more agile construction companies were better early partners. Prefabricated construction companies in Europe have been especially open to testing our materials.
What projects are you currently excited about?
We’re finishing the first prototype of our structural product, Woodflow Core—a 10-meter slab. It’s a big deal. We’re building it in collaboration with Fraunhofer in Germany and other partners, and we’re already working with a construction company to test it in the real world.
In mobility, we’re collaborating with BMW and the Dutch train operator NS. For BMW, we’ve developed “stamped wood” to mimic stamped metal—it’s lighter than aluminium and cuts CO2 emissions by up to 80%. With NS, we’re working on sustainable train interiors.
On the design side, we’re launching a new luxury collection at Salone del Mobile in Milan with Italian designer Paolo Mauri, and we’ll have permanent exhibitions in Milan, Paris, and Madrid. It’s all happening in parallel.
You’ve managed to move out of the lab and into the market. That’s rare in bio-based innovation. How did you do it?
We were very conscious about that. We didn’t take the typical academic route—doing a PhD, spending years in a lab, and maybe trying to spin out later. We created a startup early, knowing it would be tough to fund. But it was the only way to move fast enough.
We’ve been strategic about navigating uncertainty. We focus on specific components of the technology at each stage and delay the rest. For instance, we knew handling wood fibers would be key—so we prioritised solving that over perfecting the adhesive.
To fund it, we combined private money with public grants, hit key milestones, and kept moving. And we pivoted when needed. We started thinking about commodities, then realised construction would be better. Then we shifted again—starting with non-structural architectural elements to generate early revenue while we developed the core structural products.
When you look at global challenges—like rapidly growing cities in Africa or Asia—do you think innovation like yours can scale in time?
It’s not moving fast enough. But I do think there’s space to make a dent. We see Europe as the starting point—it’s heavily regulated, but has the willingness to pay. Once we prove the model, we can scale to other regions.
Our manufacturing process is designed to be scalable and decentralised. Instead of one massive facility, we imagine smaller production hubs using local materials. One real estate developer in Hong Kong told me his company alone builds 50 million square metres a year. So yes, the opportunity is huge, and even if we capture a fraction, the impact could be significant.
What’s the biggest misconception about bio-based materials?
First, that cutting trees is inherently bad. Well-managed forests actually capture more carbon when harvested responsibly and regrown. And second, that materials must be 100% biodegradable to be sustainable. That’s not always feasible today, especially with things like adhesives. We’re on a path toward fully bio-based, but we need pragmatic steps along the way.
Can you see a future where materials like yours replace concrete at scale?
There’s no silver bullet for the built environment. But I do believe in efficiency. Maybe we still use concrete for the core of a 40-storey building, but everything else can be lighter, smarter, and more sustainable.
Today’s construction practices are subsidised by cheap oil. Gothic cathedrals were more efficient with materials than many buildings today because they had to be. We need to bring that thinking back.
The construction industry needs to digitise and prefabricate more. The current system incentivises starting construction too quickly, often with underdeveloped plans. That leads to waste. More time planning, less time fixing.
Any advice for other founders in the bio-based space?
Collaborate. We have four corporates in our cap table, and they’ve contributed far more than capital—labs, knowledge, pilot projects. This space is too complex to go it alone.
Also, don’t be obsessed with control. It’s better to own a smaller slice of a big pie than a big slice of something that never scales. Partnerships have been key to our journey—and our ability to build a real business around a bold idea.
