Fire-resistance of Cross-Laminated Timber

  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..

My SketchUp Book is Out!

This is an exciting week! My book “Architectural Design with SketchUp” is now available from all of the online booksellers and should be in stores soon, too. After a year of writing and a few months editing and finalizing, it feels really good to see the final product now on store shelves and on Amazon’s […] Read more..

Maker Faire 2012 was a blast!

My family just spent an amazing day at the 2012 World Maker Faire in New York. It was a blast! Between the life-sized mousetrap and the kids coloring a Zipcar, there was so much to see and do. What amazed me most was the fact that almost every single booth had at least one 3D […] Read more..

Wood design at the Oktoberfest

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..