Ars perpendicular arborae, or, The architectural art of expressing structural timber

Abstract

This report summarises the outcome of a research project investigating the expression of structural timber in non-domestic buildings. The main intention of the research was to consider the range of possibilities for the suitable and sensitive architectural expression of timber (and engineered timber products) in building structures. Two subsidiary investigations provide supporting material: a comparative analysis, to consider if timber is being used well in New Zealand, and whether or not New Zealand designers understand the suitable and sensitive use of the material; an examination of the range of expressed timber structural systems employed in other cultures in terms of use and expression. The basic thesis explored in the research was that some architectural expressions of structural timber are inherently more suitable than others, not just in terms of functional properties or conservation considerations, but also in terms of figurative and material properties.