Buildings in Wood

This epic history is the first comprehensive survey of the use of wood in architecture throughout the ages. The book is organized both chronologically and geographically. It features works from the oldest heritage of wooden buildings (Kyoto's Buddhist temples and Scandinavia's pagan-inspired stave churches) to the latest cutting edge designs, proving that wood is on the rise as the preferred material in these ecologically conscious times. Every region of the world with a native tradition of building with wood is carefully examined. In North America, the book demonstrates the European origins of New England's clapboards and saltboxes, and later shows how such sophisticated California architects as Greene & Greene or Bernard Maybeck could blend age-old traditions of the Far East and Switzerland with a Pacific Coast sense of novelty and whimsy. Spectacular and diverse photographs highlight the architectural masterpieces of wooden architecture throughout the world, illustrating that wood is a building material with a deep history as well as a vibrant future.