William Hall trained at Central Saint Martins and began his career in the office of the minimalist architect John Pawson. Formerly a Design Director at Phaidon Press, Hall now runs his own design practice in London, working with clients such as Calvin Klein, Henry Moore Institute and Tate. He is the author of Concrete (Phaidon, 2012) and Brick (Phaidon, 2014). Richard Mabey is the author of some 40 books, including the Whitbread Award-winning biography, Gilbert White, and Beech-combings: the Narratives of Trees. For 20 years he was the custodian of an ancient wood in the Chilterns. Now he lives in a 16th C. half-timbered farmhouse in Norfolk. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and a Visiting Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

www.phaidon.com

Wood is a fresh, insightful and surprising look at one of the world’s most familiar and popular materials. Since the Neolith-ic people have lived and worked in timber buildings. Since then the list of great wooden architecture has grown to include medieval agricultural buildings, fairytale tudor manors, Japa-nese temples, and religious buildings from all over the world. Their variety is extraordinary, making for an accessible and viv-id collection of buildings.

The best contemporary architects have also built in wood, from Renzo Piano’s otherworldly Tijbaou Cultural Centre to FOA’s sprawling timber landscape for the Yokohama Port Terminal. And after a career in monolithic concrete, a hum-ble room-sized log cabin – the Petit Cabanon – was Le Corbusi-er’s last home.

Lesser-known newcomers have created some equally striking and memorable structures, from the stunning Knarvik Communi-ty Church to the Spain Pavilion at Shanghai Expo, with its remarkable layered wicker facade.

Wood is a beautiful and informative visual exploration of a material that is often overlooked, and sometimes considered limiting, but is actually full of spectacular potential.

6 Wood

William Hall

8 Trees

Richard Mabey

14 FORM

48

TEXTURE

76

JUXTAPOSITION

100

LANDSCAPE

138

LIGHT

162

MASS

182

PRESENCE

218

SCALE

238 Index

Glossary

240Endnotes

Photographic Credits

FORM

Juxtaposition 7

Vistitors to this home are taken on a journey which begins in proximity to the rugged rock face of a former quarry. The house itself is framed in rough larch cladding, stained black. Within the frame smooth, unstained larch cladding leads visitors to the highly refined interior. Hideg House, Köszeg, Hungary, 2013, Béres Architects

This tea room is part of Kuma’s contribution to a forty villa estate designed by twelve Asian architects, each asked to respond to the site’s proximity to the Great Wall of China. Kuma chose to reflect the way that that building relates to its topography, rather than simply being an isolated object in the landscape. But while the ancient structure is defensive and secludes, Kuma’s interpretation is transparent and unifying. Great (Bamboo) Wall, Badaling, China, 2002, Kengo Kuma & Associates

This church sits on bedrock on the edge of Norwegian wilderness, while overlooking a village of 5,000 people. Its apparently unfolding angular form is softened by the use of mottled pine heartwood. Heartwood is wood from the centre of a branch or trunk. Once fully formed it dies, while the outer sapwood continues to grow. Heart-wood is often much darker than the surrounding wood. Knarvik Commu-nity Church, Knarvik, Norway, 2014, Reiulf Ramstad Arkitekter

11Landscape

The construction of this extraordinary half-timbered Tudor house is typical of grand houses of the period. The oak framework is infilled with wattle and daub – a woven lattice of thin branches daubed in a sticky combination often including mud, clay, manure and straw. Once in situ the material is weather-proofed with a lime wash. In 1610, a century after its completion, a glazed third floor gallery was added, likely causing the compression seen in the lower floors. Little Moreton Hall, Congleton, UK, 1508

These ten structures, connected at ground level, stretch for 250m, and house offices and exhibition spaces in celebration of the indigenous Kanak population of New Caledonia. Inspired by traditional Kanak huts, their form has an unplaceable prehistoric quality, yet the construction is entirely scientif-ic: Their orientation defends from the prevailing Pacific wind and their durable iroko wood slats moderate sunlight and heat. Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center, Nouméa, New Caledonia, 1998, Renzo Piano

Echoing Frank Lloyd Wright’s endeavour to create a regionalist American architecture, and influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, the Greene brother’s Californian bunga-lows were products of the local climate and landscape. They became known for producing unpretentious but exceptional buildings which typically had a lateral impression, with long shallow roofs accentuating the horizontal. The deep overhangs provided cover to fashionable ‘sleeping porches’ – seen here at the back of the house – adjacent to bedrooms. Gamble House, Pasadena, CA, USA, 1908, Greene and Greene

13Landscape

A discreet, plain and boxy exterior belies the organically undulating interior of this sauna situated on Lake Huron. Computer modelling was required to mill the panels which were then assembled on site as parts of a giant jigsaw. The parallel graining contributes to a sense of solidity and an apparently excavated interior. Grot-to Sauna, Ontario, Canada, 2014, Partisans

This carefully composed plank stack houses a piece of conceptual theatre. Four visitors perform a play by reading from elements within the structure. The structure itself draws visitors in and provides an intimate venue for the performance while maintaining a palpable relationship with the surrounding landscape. Khor i temporary theatre, Venlo, Nether-lands, 2012, Breg Horemans for TAAT

15Presence

The architects endured a series of competitions and votes over more than a decade before winning the right to build this public shelter. Situated on a plot left unresolved for almost a century, and latterly used as a car park. Its giant double-gabled ends feel familiar and traditional yet the monumental extruded, asymmet-ric form is undeniably contemporary.Glass panels protect the timber from the elements, while a chimney and fireplace in diagonally opposed piers hold fireplaces to warm visitors during festivals. Market Hall, Ghent, Belgium, 2012, Marie-José van Hee and Robbrecht & Daem

Stilts reference the landing stages used by this once vibrant, now ailing fishing community. Echoing local vernacular structures, this timber hotel has two purposes. It supports the local community and provides jobs and focus. Secondly, it aims to be a contemporary refuge, not just from the beautiful but unforgiving terrain and climate, but also from the modern world. Fogo Island Inn, Fogo Island, Canada, 2013, Saunders Architecture

17Scale

The largest timber framed building in England, this remarkable oak-framed tithe barn is 59 metres long and 11 metres wide. Built in the early 15th century, it is thought that 95% of the framework is original. The grand scale and basilican plan led the poet John Betjeman to coin it the ‘Cathedral of Middlesex’. Harmondsworth Great Barn, Harmondsworth, UK, 1426

This Expo pavilion is clad in woven wicker panels, the form of which was conceived and prototyped in Spain and handmade in China, thereby bridging the cultural and manufacturing tra- ditions of both countries. Supported by an externally invisible warped steel web, the building has the ‘dynamic, open, transparent’ quality architect Benedetta Tagliabue desired. Spain Pavilion at Shanghai Expo, Shanghai, China, 2010, Miralles Tagliabue

Phaidon Press LimitedRegent’s WharfAll Saints StreetLondon N1 9PA

Phaidon Press Inc.65 Bleecker StreetNew York, NY 10012

© 2017 Phaidon Press Ltdphaidon.com

Book specifications

Binding: HardbackFormat: 290 x 250 mm (11 3⁄8 x 9 7⁄8 inches)Extent: 224 ppIllustrations: 175 colourWord count: 20,000Publication Month: March 2017Retail Price: £29.95 / $49.95 / €39.95ISBN: 978 0 7148 7348 0

Wood Wood is a fascinating, insightful and visually-rich collection of the world’s best timber architecture, featuring 175 structures from the last 1,500 years, and some of the most innovative and inspirational new architecture from across the globe.

Since at least the Neolithic period, people have lived and worked in timber buildings. Over the centuries architects have created exquisite tree-top retreats, fairytale Tudor manors, and majestic religious buildings all around the world.

The best contemporary architects have built in wood, from Renzo Piano’s otherworldly Tijbaou Cultural Centre to FOA’s sprawling timber landscape for the Yokohama Port Terminal. And after a career in monolithic concrete, a humble room-sized log cabin – the Cabanon – was Le Corbusier’s last home.

Carefully arranged to promote comparison and discussion, each project includes an extended caption providing an informative and perceptive commentary on the building. The book opens with an introductory essay, offering an accessible, engaging and analytical response to the theme of wood architecture.

Following the success of Concrete (2012) and Brick (2015), Wood presents an assembly of the world’s most creative and innova-tive architecture – demonstrating the startling variety of structures the material has inspired.

William Hall trained at Central Saint Martins and began his career in the office of the minimalist architect John Pawson. Hall now runs his own design practice in London, working with clients such as Calvin Klein, MoMA, and Tate. Hall is the author of Concrete and Brick (Phaidon, 2012 and 2015)

Richard Mabey is the author of some 40 books, including the Whitbread Award- winning biography, Gilbert White, and Beechcombings: the Narratives of Trees. For 20 years he was the custodian of an ancient wood in the Chilterns. Now he lives in a 16th century half-timbered farmhouse in Norfolk. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and a Visiting Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

18Presence

Housing a spa of naturally carbon-ated water, this striking building has an unplaceable aesthetic, marrying elements of medieval and modern European and Japanese styles. The facade alternates charred cedar planks with white mortar. Charring the boards is a seldom seen, labour intensive hand process, which seals the wood against rain and rot for decades. Live pine trees sit atop the ventilation towers – as if encapsulat-ed by the structure – in a characteris-tically eccentric example of Fujimori’s wit. Soda Pop Spa, Nagayu, Japan, 2005, Terunobu Fujimori

Due to its ecologically sensitive position in a seafront rainforest, this house was prefabricated before being pieced together on site, without the need for heavy machinery. Raised off the ground by six timber columns – which splay tree-like into six supports, the design allows tropical rainstorms to pass harmlessly beneath. Baeta House, Guarujá, Brazil, 1991, Marcos Acayaba

Form 18

This is one of two large, and six small, domes which collectively serve as a community centre on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City. Measuring 24 metres in diameter and approximate-ly half that in height, the structure is woven using locally sourced bamboo and was inspired by the baskets used to contain poultry at Vietnamese markets. An open skylight at the apex allows light to flood in and hot air to escape. Diamond Island Community Centre, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, 2015,Vo Trong Nghia Architects

This forestry conservation centre harvests, cultivates and markets indigenous tree seeds, promoting the conservation of native species. The elongated hemisphere is constructed from a spruce wood frame – the thick beams of which moderate sunlight – attached to a concrete base. The whole is clad in a glass tiles. Walloon Forestry Centre, Marche-en-Fa-menne, Belgium, 1995, Samyn and Partners

Phasellus est nunc, lobortis eget turpis sed, vulputate vehicula lorem. Etiam fringilla lorem eu diam viverra egestas. Fusce a blandit nisl. In fringilla est tempor faucibus ornare. Curabitur tristique aliquam sapien imperdiet consectetur. Building Name, Location, Country, 2016, Architect Name

With the job of regenerating a run-down square, this ambitious 150 m long structure incorporates an underground archaeological museum, famers market, cafes and an elevated plaza. The six connected canopies rest on reinforced concrete columns, the rest of the laminated birch open cell structure making up one of the largest wooden buildings in the world. Metropol Parasol, Seville, Spain, 2011, Jürgen Mayer H.

This 430m long pier incorporates all the usual facilities of an international port – such as parking, a departures lobby, shops, and cafes – and adds one unexpected extra: a vast rooftop park, open to the public. The rolling hardwood terrace, an unprecedented topographical vision, makes clear reference to both the ocean waves, and to a ships’ deck. Yokohama International Passenger Terminal, Yokohama, Japan, 1995, FOA

18Scale

Wood

William Hall trained at Central Saint Martins and began his career in the office of the minimalist architect John Pawson. Formerly a Design Director at Phaidon Press, Hall now runs his own design practice in London, working with clients such as Calvin Klein, Henry Moore Institute and Tate. He is the author of Concrete (Phaidon, 2012) and Brick (Phaidon, 2014). Richard Mabey is the author of some 40 books, including the Whitbread Award-winning biography, Gilbert White, and Beech-combings: the Narratives of Trees. For 20 years he was the custodian of an ancient wood in the Chilterns. Now he lives in a 16th C. half-timbered farmhouse in Norfolk. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and a Visiting Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

www.phaidon.com

Wood is a fresh, insightful and surprising look at one of the world’s most familiar and popular materials. Since the Neolith-ic people have lived and worked in timber buildings. Since then the list of great wooden architecture has grown to include medieval agricultural buildings, fairytale tudor manors, Japa-nese temples, and religious buildings from all over the world. Their variety is extraordinary, making for an accessible and viv-id collection of buildings.

The best contemporary architects have also built in wood, from Renzo Piano’s otherworldly Tijbaou Cultural Centre to FOA’s sprawling timber landscape for the Yokohama Port Terminal. And after a career in monolithic concrete, a hum-ble room-sized log cabin – the Petit Cabanon – was Le Corbusi-er’s last home.

Lesser-known newcomers have created some equally striking and memorable structures, from the stunning Knarvik Communi-ty Church to the Spain Pavilion at Shanghai Expo, with its remarkable layered wicker facade.

Wood is a beautiful and informative visual exploration of a material that is often overlooked, and sometimes considered limiting, but is actually full of spectacular potential.