While concrete and steel may have the illusion as the toughest construction materials, the wooden truss is enjoying a comeback for its warm aesthetic and ability to summon the inner builder within us all. And architects are warping wood in to some fascinating things: it’s not just cute little cabins and tiny shacks, but undulating and swooping decks, mountain-high towers, and intricately latticed, bulbous façades. In these constructions, wood trusses are both decorative and structural. Lumber isn’t just a building material, but it is elevated into an art form, a strategically placed brushstroke. Here we present eight of these stunning pieces of architectural and sculptural art work – buildings that take timber to new heights: Images via designboom, courtesy of Olivier Ottevaere The Sweep by Olivier Ottevaere and John Lin, China Olivier Ottevaere and John Lin created The Sweep, a timber observation deck made out of 12 trusses with the help of 65 architecture students at the University of Hong Kong in just six days. The cantilevered platform, which rotates around a ring of posts, slopes and curves upward, giving visitors a gentle (almost playful) ascent to a ...
While concrete and steel may have the illusion as the toughest construction materials, the wooden truss is enjoying a comeback for its warm aesthetic and ability to summon the inner builder within us all. And architects are warping wood in to some fascinating things: it’s not just cute little cabins and tiny shacks, but undulating and swooping decks, mountain-high towers, and intricately latticed, bulbous façades. In these constructions, wood trusses are both decorative and structural. Lumber isn’t just a building material, but it is elevated into an art form, a strategically placed brushstroke. Here we present eight of these stunning pieces of architectural and sculptural art work – buildings that take timber to new heights: Images via designboom, courtesy of Olivier Ottevaere The Sweep by Olivier Ottevaere and John Lin, China Olivier Ottevaere and John Lin created The Sweep, a timber observation deck made out of 12 trusses with the help of 65 architecture students at the University of Hong Kong in just six days. The cantilevered platform, which rotates around a ring of posts, slopes and curves upward, giving visitors a gentle (almost playful) ascent to a ...