Readily debarked, cut, divided, carved, sanded, planed, or traditionally
hand-hewn with a broad axe, the diversity with which timber can or
has been
fashioned elevated wood’s artisans to legendary status. As was the
case with the master mason, the master carpenter, or the great artisan «daiku» in Japanese building culture, was
responsible for both designing and building. Elucidating the tectonics of
weaving, interlocking joints, artistry and precision, Japanese temples, Scandinavian
log stacking, and European box frame exemplify the master carpenters’ talents
in frame as well as mass timber building.
The meticulous crafting of connections associated with traditional
timber building was somewhat lost to the invention of steel fasteners.
Joinery and its master craftsmen became too expensive to compete with the
commodification of wood building. The balloon frame developed into the icon of
this commodification. The politics of war and industrialization further
strained wood’s use as concrete and steel, icons of development, monopolized civic
architecture's requirement for flexibility, height and large spans.
The improvement of wood composite
hybrids such as glue laminated or cross- laminated timber products combined
with the democratization of numerically controlled cutting and fabrication renew
complex joinery as a viable strategy in rationalized building methods. The advancements
in wood dividing and bonding have increased wood’s effectiveness on par with both
steel and concrete. Modern techniques produce a large range of shapes and
profiles for both vertical and horizontal spans and for every building type
with comparatively low embodied energy.
Shigeru Ban, a Japanese born
architect, well known for his work that explores the links between traditional and
contemporary building culture, designed a frame structure that exemplifies the
tall wood paradigm while highlighting numerically cut joinery as the
structure’s main architectural feature. The seven-story post and beam structure
was designed and built for the Tamedia publishing company in Zurich. The exceptional
glue-laminated posts and beams are digitally milled with great precision. Vulgar
nails and bolts are replaced with dowel pins made of beech plywood, which tie
the structural components together. A veritable mega-structure-puzzle of
precisely engineered parts, the framework didactically reflects the architect's
fascination with woodcraft while the glue-laminated timber demonstrates an
intelligent and intelligible use of a sustainable and renewable resource.
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| Joinery photograph and drawings view from the architect's website |
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