Some of my students recently finished building a “severely overdesigned” wood-concrete composite bench that serves as a mockup for the floor system in our new building at UMass. You can read all about it (and check out the photo gallery) here: http://bct.eco.umass.edu/news/building-a-wood-concrete-floor-mockup-bench/
I just posted a tutorial on my new SketchUp book’s companion site, http://sketchupfordesign.com, about how you can use SketchUp to create geometry for structural analysis. You can find the article (and the video) here: http://sketchupfordesign.com/tutorials/analyze-this-creating-geometry-for-structural-analysis-in-sketchup/
As it turns out, Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), the new and quite promising structural wood product, can not only be used to build apartments or highrises. It can also be used for more unconventional structures. Below are two of them: A Water Reservoir Structurlam, a CLT supplier from Penticton, BC has used CLT to build this water […] Read more..
Only 10 days left for early registration! Also check out our updated speaker list and the details on AIA/PDH credits. Join us this September for the 2011 Symposium on Wood Engineering, Architecture and Construction at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Presentations will cover passivehouse technology, environmental benefits of using wood and new, innovative wood building […] Read more..
In my quest to make my content more audience-specific, I recently started cross-posting wood-related news, readings and updates to the @timberengineer Twitter account. Similar to what I have been posting already about wood to my @alexschreyer account, I will in the future be posting more wood-related content under the new account. So to make a […] Read more..
Just came across these amazing images of a Chinese temple under construction (thanks to Alex from China for sending me the link).
This study examined the strength properties of a new timber connector that consisted of a sectioned steel tube embedded into the end grain of heavy-timber structural members using a vinyl-ester based mortar. The steel cap of the connector featured a threaded hole that allowed for the attachment of a variety of connecting steel elements.