Far Eastern University

Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts

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LECTURE READING 14: TIMBER STRUCTURES

Wood is plenty in our planet, it's relatively cheap (or even free), it's environmentally friendly, it looks
great, it's warm and cozy, it's super-strong, it lasts hundreds or even thousands of years, and you can use it for
everything from building bridges to making paper or heating your home. It's quite possibly the most useful and
versatile material on the planet, with many thousands of different uses. So what is it that makes wood so good?
Let's take a closer look!

You often hear people grumbling about money and all kinds of other things that "don't grow on trees";
the great thing about wood is that it does grow on trees—or, more specifically, in their trunks and branches.

Take a tree and peel off the outer "skin" or bark and what you'll find is two kinds of wood. Closest to the
edge there's a moist, light, living layer called sapwood packed with tubes called xylem that help a tree pipe
water and nutrients up from its roots to its leaves; inside the sapwood there's a much darker, harder, part of the
tree called the heartwood, which is dead, where the xylem tubes have blocked up with resins or gums and
stopped working. Around the outer edge of the sapwood (and the trunk) is a thin active layer called
the cambium where the tree is actually growing outward by a little bit each year, forming those famous annual
rings that tell us how old a tree is. Slice horizontally through a tree, running the saw parallel to the ground
(perpendicular to the trunk), and you'll see the annual rings (one new one added each year) making up the
cross-section. Cut vertically through a tree trunk and you'll see lines inside running parallel to the trunk formed
by the xylem tubes, forming the inner structure of the wood known as its grain. You'll also see occasional wonky
ovals interrupting the grain called knots, which are the places where the branches grew out from the trunk of a
tree. Knots can make wood look attractive, but they can also weaken its structure.
 Far Eastern University
Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
___________________________________________________________________________

Here are the wood products available commercially in the market used in construction:

1) BOARD

2) PLANK

3) TIMBER
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Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
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4) FLITCH

5) SLAB
 Far Eastern University
Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
___________________________________________________________________________

The following are famous and notable structures made up of wood:

1) NOAH’S ARK - According to the Bible, Noah’s Ark is made up of Gopher Wood. It is said
that the ark is still buried today at the foot of Mt. Ararat in Turkey. The picture below is a replica of Noah’s
Ark. It is the Noah’s Ark Museum in Kentucky, USA.

2) Superior Dome - The world’s largest wooden dome located in Michigan, USA.

3) U BEIN BRIDGE – The wood used in the bridge are already 150 years old and the
bridge is still existing and usable. The bridge is located in Myanmar.
 Far Eastern University
Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
___________________________________________________________________________

4) A church in Norway - This church is made up of wood and it can hold 500 people.

5) MURRAY GROVE - This is a 5-storey timber building located in London, England.

6) KISHI POGOST CHURCH - The world’s tallest structure made entirely of purely wood
located in Russia.
 Far Eastern University
Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
___________________________________________________________________________

7) METROPOL PARASOL - The structure claims to be the largest structure in area that is made
up of wood. It is located in Seville, Spain. A parasol is a light umbrella to protect from the rat of the sun.

8) THE GREAT EASTERN TEMPLE - Located in Japan and it is a very large wooden
pagoda.

9) A wooden tower
 Far Eastern University
Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
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10) A wooden roller coaster

11) A wooden airport in Turkey

12) A wooden farmhouse with one column in Ukraine

 Far Eastern University
Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
___________________________________________________________________________

OPERATIONS INVOLVED IN PREPARATION OF WOOD

 Far Eastern University
Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
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Natural Seasoning
 Far Eastern University
Institute of Architecture and Fine Arts
___________________________________________________________________________

Artificial or Kiln Seasoning