A hot house

A hot house

With the record-breaking heat wave we’re experiencing on the East Coast, it was interesting to look at the exterior of our house with an infrared thermometer. The image above lists the results (in Celsius because I prefer metric when it comes to temperatures). As you can see, this illustrates nicely the benefits of white surfaces […] Read more..

HygroScope – Climate-responsive artwork in wood

(Image: achimmenges.net) This art piece illustrates nicely one of wood’s most interesting properties – its hygroscopicity. Wood attracts water from the surrounding atmosphere and binds it in its cell walls. What the artists did here was laminate an uneven number of veneers (usually a no-no in plywood production), which results in a plywood that curls […] Read more..

Interview with Hermann Kaufmann on Architecture in the Bregenzerwald / Vorarlberg, Austria

The following video interview with renowned Austrian architect Hermann Kaufmann illustrates nicely how traditional wood architecture can be honored in a modern context. Architecture in Bregenzerwald / Vorarlberg – YouTube:

How tall can we build in wood?

Recent news about a report published by the Canadian architect Michael Green “Tall Wood – The Case for Tall Wood Buildings” (which was funded by the Canadian Wood Council and co-authored by Equilibrium Consulting, LMDG and BTY Group) is currently accelerating interest in the possibility of using wood, a naturally renewable material, to replace concrete and steel […] Read more..

2012 BC Wood Design Awards

Here’s another inspirational round of amazing wood structures. A few days ago, the 8th annual Wood WORKS! BC Wood Design Awards were given out in various categories including Commercial, Residential, Multi-Unit Residential, Western Red cedar, Green Building, Interior Beauty, Engineering and Architecture and more. Congratulations also to architect Jim Taggart, FRAIC for receiving the  BC Premier’s Wood Champion Award! Links: Wood WORKS! BC presents 2012 Wood Design Awards […] Read more..