The framing gets sealed and protected from moisture. It is not exposed to the outside. Exterior exposed wood is either pressure treated to resist rot, is a species that is naturally rot resistant, or it is painted.

Remember, the article is talking about altering wood to be both transparent and biodegradable. That sounds like a window to me. That is a role that is currently filled with either glass or plastic. You would not choose a biodegradable material for exterior use and most windows are used on the outside of a structure.

I’m skeptical of this for two reasons.

1. The thing that makes plastic as a building material so useful is that it takes forever to degrade. Biodegradable building materials seems like it would be counterproductive and make the problem worse, not better.

2. So far, every time some new variety of biodegradable plastic comes along, it turns out to be a big fat lie.

My grandmother bought me a dark green, polyester, turtle-neck shirt; when I was 12. I never even tried it on.