Crafting Wood

Book excerpt: New findings on timber joints and inspiration for architects and other professionals in the field of timber construction. Wood has a centuries-long tradition as well as a huge potential for future use as a highly versatile building material. Crafting Wood presents newly gained knowledge on timber construction and on timber joints in particular. This book--lavishly illustrated with plans, sketches, and photographs--emerged from an international educational cooperation of the University of Liechtenstein in Vaduz, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology NTNU in Trondheim, and the Academy of Architecture in Amsterdam. The program looked at a vast range of timber joints from different theoretical and practical perspectives. Students conceived and made by hand new joints that were then applied in prototypes for entire structures, also designed as part of the course, at a scale of 1:5. By analyzing this learning process, the book provides a new overview of the topic of timber joints in architecture through text and images.