Wood Architecture & Design
Author/s: Michelle Galindo
Photographer/s: Various
Editor: Judith Vonberg
Art director: Manuela Roth
Size: 191 pages
Publisher: Braun Publishing AG
Publisher www: www.braun-publishing.ch
If you’re ever on the fence about which material to build with, then its safe to say that Wood Architecture & Design will convince you to use wood for your next project. Michelle Galindo has presented 58 beautifully captured examples of construction with wood from all corners of the globe that effectively display the utility of building with wood.
The projects showcased in this book will be of interest to architects, designers and engineers alike. Each case study contains building plans and a summary of the techniques and wood types used, along with an extensive range of pictures that illustrate both the structural capabilities of timber as well as its redoubtable visual amenity.
The unparalleled versatility and beauty of wood is highlighted in how in all these projects wood sits so comfortably in such a wide array of climates and landscapes. As wood is a natural material, it can be used in buildings designed to blend in with the landscape in which they are situated. Indeed, in many cases wood can be used to adapt to its location, as it takes on the colour and characteristics of the landscape as it weathers over time. The C/Z House in Azores, Portugal is a perfect example of how wood is used to compliment its surroundings; this black-timbered open-living dwelling faultlessly compliments the rugged hilly terrain.
However, wood can also be used in bold buildings designed to draw the eye, such as in the case of the Letterbox House in Blairgowrie, Australia where the warm and welcomes tones of the timber and compliment by the sharp edges and distinct lines in the design.
Wood can also be used in innovative and exciting projects, illustrated by the Fab Lab House in Madrid, Spain. This self-sufficient concept house is both functional and spectacular, with solar and the thermal qualities of wood resulting in a home of active resource production.