Category: Construction

Anything related to commercial or residential construction goes here: News, photos, ideas, etc. Also, don’t forget to check out my book: Fundamentals of Residential Construction.

“Urban Timber” Exhibit at the BSA Showcases Contemporary Wood Architecture

Posted on (Updated: February 18, 2017) by Alex Schreyer

Yesterday was the opening of the exhibit “Urban Timber: From Seed to City” at the BSA Space of the Boston Society of Architects. Located close to Boston’s waterfront, this exhibit runs through the end of September 2014. So if you are in the area, don’t forget to drop by and check it out. I was […] Read more..

You can now use SketchUp with Allen/Iano’s Fundamentals of Building Construction book

Posted on (Updated: February 18, 2017) by Alex Schreyer

When it comes to learning construction methods and systems (and, of course, the related materials), it is crucial for a student to understand how things fit together. Every construction system is an assembly of subparts (e.g. beams, bolts, decking) and often a layering based on various functional requirements (e.g. air barrier, insulation, structural sheathing,…). This […] Read more..

SOM gets on Board with Tall Wood

Posted on (Updated: February 18, 2017) by Alex Schreyer

If you have been following the recent building trends in wood architecture, you may have already asked yourself this question: How tall can we build in wood? As it turns out, the currently most prolific highrise planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) is throwing their weight into the discussion. With a recently published report, this firm is […] Read more..

Fire-resistance of Cross-Laminated Timber

Posted on (Updated: February 18, 2017) by Alex Schreyer

  Canadian researchers recently put Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), a somewhat new building product, to the test to determine fire-resistance properties. Their findings were: The tests demonstrated that CLT assemblies can achieve significant fire resistance that is close to three hours in some cases with even unprotected CLT under full loading conditions. The failure modes were […] Read more..

Wood design at the Oktoberfest

Posted on (Updated: February 18, 2017) by Alex Schreyer

If you thought the Oktoberfest in Munich (Germany) was all about beer, think again. The agricultural fair that accompanies the Fest has a little gem this year for anyone interested in forests and wood design. Envisioned by Architecture students from the TU Munich (the Technical University) and fabricated by carpentry students from the vocational school in […] Read more..