A Necessary Part: Timber as Cultural Artifact
As the demand for renewable energy and materials rises, Mass Timber products have emerged as sustainable alternatives to steel and concrete construction. However, the industrialization of timber has led to a narrow focus on homogenized products, sidelining the cultural role of craftsmanship, building tradition, and preservation that timber construction can harbor
In Scandinavia, explored through a series of case studies, the vulnerabilities of raw timber construction have given rise to the degradation and necessary maintenance of many historic timber structures. This necessitates the involvement of skilled craftsman, engineers, and laborers that through prolonged engagement with each structure form their own culture of timber craft and building preservation. In effect, these structures and their involved details preserve the knowledge of Scandinavian building traditions and offer insight into the judicious use of local resources, forms of assembly, and a thriving culture of timber preservation around each structure. The details, construction methods, and labor allocation observed from each example have provided insight into pragmatic means of on-site assembly that allow future addition and renovation which artifactually demonstrate how craftsman, architects, and builders practice timber construction in Scandinavia. This thesis proposes how these artifactual details can influence the formation of new timber construction and engage with this Scandinavian culture of timber building preservation with mass timber
Mass Timber products showcase engineered solutions to many of timber’s vulnerabilities for construction. This, in part, lends to Mass Timber’s perceived homogenization and the ultimate neglect of studies into the product’s potential for forming cultural artifacts. How can Mass Timber products retain their resiliency while engaging with craftsmanship, building traditions, and users over centuries? This thesis offers insight into this and how this Scandinavian culture of timber preservation can influence architecture through designing glue-less forms of Mass Timber and planning details for on-site disassembly and reassembly
