Astm stp 1351 2000

C., "History of Timber Construction," Wood Structures: A Global Forum on the Treatment, Conservation, and Repair of Cultural Heritage, ASTM STP 1351, S.. Mortised joints, one of the most

Wood Structures: A Global

Forum on the Treatment,

Conservation, and Repair of

Cultural Heritage

Stephen J Kelley, Joseph R Loferski,

Alexander J Salenikovich, and E George Stern, editors

ASTM Stock Number: STP1351

ASTM

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wood structures: A global forum on the treatment, conservation, and repair of cultural

heritage / Stephen J K e l l e y [et al.], editors

p cm. (STP; 1351)

"ASTM Stock Number: STP1351 "

Includes bibliographical references and index

ISBN 0-8031-2497-X

1 Historic buildings Conservation and restoration Congresses

buildings Congresses 3 Wooden-frame buildings Congresses

1954- I1 ASTM special technical publication; 1351

Copyright 9 2000 AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS, West Conshohocken,

PA All rights reserved This material may not be reproduced or copied, in whole or in part, in any printed, mechanical, electronic, film, or other distribution and storage media, without the written consent of the publisher

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Peer Review Policy

Each paper published in this volume was evaluated by two peer reviewers and at least one edi- tor The authors addressed all of the reviewers' comments to the satisfaction of both the technical editor(s) and the ASTM Committee on Publications

To make technical information available as quickly as possible, the peer-reviewed papers in this publication were prepared "camera-ready" as submitted by the authors

The quality of the papers in this publication reflects not only the obvious efforts of the authors and the technical editor(s), but also the work of the peer reviewers In keeping with long-standing publication practices, ASTM maintains the anonymity of the peer reviewers The ASTM Committee

on Publications acknowledges with appreciation their dedication and contribution of time and effort

on behalf of ASTM

Printed in Philadelphia, PA November 2000

This book is lovingly dedicated to

Evelyn and Wendell Kelley

through whom all things have become possible for me

sjk

This book is sponsored by ASTM Committee E6

Contents

A PRIMER ON WOOD HERITAGE History of Timber Construction G c FOLIENTE

THE CHURCH OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF KIZHI ISLAND

The Kizhi Pogost Architectural Complex in Old Photographs M MILTCHIK

Wood Condition in the Church of The Transfiguration at the Kizhi Museum

V A KOZLOV, V I KRUTOV, M V KISTERNAYA, AND T I VAHRAMEEVA

Monitoring Deformations on the Church o f The Transfiguration

T I VAHRAMEEVA, I V LUBIMOV, AND V J TSVETKOV

Concepts of Repair, Restoration, and Reinforcement of the Church of The

Transfiguration u v PISKUNOV

CHALLENGES OF L O G STRUCTURES

Inspection and Evaluation of Decay in Log Struetures J MATTSSON

Environmental Problems in Preserving Wooden Buildings at the Estonian

Open Air Museum M LAHT

Conservation of the Wooden Garner in Paezeriai, Lithuania N VILCONCIENE

AND J DROBELIENE

The Role of Natural Conservation of Wood in Preservation of Wooden

Architectural Monuments E i KUDRJAVTSEVA AND A P LITVINTSEVA

The Restoration of Sodankyl~i Old Church M KAIRAMO

Strategies for the Preservation of Historic Wooden S t r u c t u r e s - -

J L LEWANDOSKI

The Treatment of Fungal Growth in Heritage Structures in D e n m a r k m

O MUNCK AND J FODE

Alternative Strategies in Restoring a Medieval B a r u m o T YEOMANS AND

A C SMITH

Diagnosis of Wood Timbers: " L a L o n g a " Building in Valencia, S p a i n - -

L PALAIA-P~EREZ

Structural Stabilization Challenges of a Presidential Home A w O'BRIGHT

Addressing 150 Years of Structural Modifications: The Charles Arnold and

Julia Sprigg Houses at Lincoln Home National Historic Site c A DRONE The Maloney-Bridget Smith House: A Case Study in Preservation

Totem Pole and House Post Conservation R E SHEETZ

Conservation Investigation for Preservation of a Historic Timber Hut in

Overview

The Fragile Wood Heritage

Wooden architecture is far more important in the built heritage of the northern European countries than in western Europe or in the Americas Though wood was the primary building material in pre-medieval times in Europe, the establishment of a feudal society in western Europe brought the predominance of brick and stone construction The Americas and Aus- tralia followed these traditions? In the northern Slav territories, however, the tradition of wooden architecture rendered in logs predominated through the Middle Ages for the con- struction of monasteries, churches, fortifications, and palaces This wooden church architec- ture continued into the 18th century and peasant home construction for some time thereafter Until the beginning of the 19th century, whole towns and cities, including the greater part

of Moscow, were of wood log construction The paper by Foliente opens this book and places the history of the northern Slav wood-built heritage in a world perspective

Today this precious and fragile heritage is on the verge of disappearing in Russia and the former states of the Soviet Union Mikhail Miltchik of Spetzproyectrestavratsia in St Pe- tersburg recently wrote the following:

"The destruction of the monuments of wooden architecture has acquired the character of an avalanche In 10-15 years to come they may completely disappear in [Russia] but for a few churches and chapels that are in a satisfactory state, and for those that have been transported

to the open-air architectural preserves More than 80% of [wooden] churches noted down before the 1930s do not exist [today] It is during the latest years that in Arkhangelsk Region there have been lost such constructions as the nativity (Rozhdestvenskaya) Church in Bes- tuzhevo on the River Ustya (1763), the Twelve Apostles (Dvenadsati Apostolov) Church in Pirinem on the River Penega (1799); there have been burnt down the ensembles of Ust-Koga

and Verkhnaya Mudyuga graveyards (pogosts) on the River Onega (17th-18th centuries) The

churches of the famous Liada graveyard are in a state of emergency; the helm roof of the St Nicholas (Nikolskaya) Church (1670) in Volosovo of Kargopol County has fallen down; the John the Baptist (Predtechenskaya) Church (1780) in Litvinov on the River Vaga stays roofless; the Our Lady (Odigitrievskaya) Church (1709) in Kimzba on the River Mezen is on the verge

of collapse Unfortunately, this mournful inventory is much longer 2

The value of this heritage was recognized as early as the turn of the last century when the idea of the ethnological open air museum was germinated This distinctly eastern Eur- opean concept wherein examples of regional wooden architectural styles were relocated to nature preserves where ensembles could be placed in village tableaus similar to their region

of o r i g i n - - c o u l d then be enjoyed by the population and given ready and standardized stewardship to prolong their existence From the 1920s to the 1960s, numerous open-air architectural preserves were established Among them, besides the Ethnographic Museum

1 The Japanese, of course, developed their own traditions in wood construction that encompass 90%

of their built heritage

2 Miltchik, M., "The Tragic Fate of Russian Wooden Architecture and the Problems of Its Preserva-

tion," The Actual Problems of the Unique Russian Wooden Architecture Monuments' Researching and Saving, M Miltchik, Ed., Spetzproyectrestavratsia, St Petersburg, 1999

vii

on Kizhi Island in Karelia, Russia, can be included: Maliye Karely, 24 km east of Arkhan- gelsk, Russia; the Open Air Museum at Kolomenskoye, on the outskirts of Moscow, Russia;

the Vitoslavitsy Open Air Museum, on the outskirts of Novgorod, Russia; the Podmonastir- skaya Sloboda by the Ipatievsky Monastery in Kostroma, Russia; the Shehelokov farmstead

in the Shcholkovsky Khutor preserve near Nizhny Novgorod, Russia; the excellent Folk Architecture Open Air Museum near the village of Piragova on the outskirts of Kiev, Ukraine; the Museul Satului Village Museum in Herastrau Park in Bucharest, Romania; the Wallachian Outdoor Museum in Ro~nov, Slovakia; the Museum of Folk Architecture in Sanok, Poland; the Vabahumuseum Ethnological Open Air Museum in Rocca al Mare near Tallinn, Estonia; the Ethnographic Open Air Museum near Riga, Latvia; and the excellent Rumgiskes Eth- nological Open Air Museum near Vilnius, Lithuania Among the papers discussed in this book regarding Kizhi Pogost (Miltchik, Kozlov et al., Vahrameeva et al., Piskunov, Mattson)

is a fascinating paper regarding the Estonian Open Air Museum (Laht)

There are also numerous examples of wooden built heritage that exist in situ in this region: the Stavkirkes of southern Norway; the wooden residences in G6teborg, Sweden; the wooden suburbs Kadriorg, Kalamaja, and Kopli to the east and northwest of Tallinn, Estonia; the wooden Orthodox Churches in the Rzesz6w region of southeastern Poland; the wooden heritage of eastern Slovakia; the wooden Rumanian villages in the Transylvanian region of Maramure~; and, of course, the wooden farm structures in Paezeriai, Lithuania, discussed in this book (Vilkonciene et al.) to name but a few

These wood log structures (excluding the Swedish and Estonian examples which are wood frame), though diverse in character, share common pathologies The most vulnerable parts

of timber buildings are the logs closest to the ground, those below the windows, and the

logs closest to the roofl These areas are exposed to more moisture than the rest of the construction, and, in the case of the ground plate, are subject to insect attack and decay fungi These pathologies are discussed by Kozlov et al and Mattson The most dangerous and destructive enemy is fire

Kizhi Pogost and the Church of the Transfiguration

At the request of our Canadian colleagues, Andrew Powter and Herb Stovel of the Inter- national Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), Professor Joseph Loferski and I went

on a technical consulting mission to the Church of the Transfiguration (Preobrazhenskaya Tserkva) on Kizhi Island in Lake Onega in Karelia, Russia, in January of 1995 The Church

of the Transfiguration is part of the Kizhi Pogost ensemble and is the jewel of the Kizhi Open Air Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site The purpose of our visit was to assess and critique the methods, findings, and conclusions of the restoration team headed by Pro- fessor Yuri Piskunov of the Vyatka State Technical University, Center for Research, Engi- neering and Manufacture of Building Structures (CREMBS) at Kirov, Russia Our translator

on our two-week visit was an engineer and wood scientist, Alexander Salenikovich Alex- ander subsequently did his doctoral thesis at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Uni- versity (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, due to an exchange program set up by Professor Loferski and his mentor, Professor George Stern, who established the internationally re- nowned Wood Science Program at Virginia Tech Stern and Loferski developed a cruise conference that sailed from St Petersburg via Kizhi to Moscow in August of 1997, where many of the papers in this book were presented?

OVERVIEW ix

At Kizhi we found an island where the snow was three feet deep and the temperature stayed less than 10~ where skies were clear, stars shone undimmed by urban light at night, where ice crystals fell from the sky and grew into fine fingers inches long and tightly spaced

on trees and shrubs, and where brilliant sunrises occurred at 10 o'clock each morning with

the sun never rising high above the horizon and setting by 4 p.m Because of the season,

we had the tiny Island and Open Air Museum to ourselves; lived in a little wooden village; feasted on fish, root vegetables, and vodka with the villagers; and took a banya (sauna) at night that included jumping through a hole in the ice into the frigid waters of Lake Onega

We came to know a people who lived close to the land and whose ancestors constructed magnificent structures like The Church of the Transfiguration

But just as important, we came to know an industrious group of professionals who had taken on the gargantuan technical and political problems of restoring the Church of the Transfiguration Professor Piskunov was faced with the task of developing a restoration scheme after years of diagnostic procedures by an army of professionals, where the results

of different diagnostic procedures would yield varied results (Miltchik, Kozlov et al., Vah- rameeva et al., and Mattson) Yuri's analysis was state-of-the-art and his solutions were cutting edge Loferski and I revisited a lesson that I'have learned again and again in inter- national preservation consulting in Russia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Macedonia: these coun- tries may have economic difficulties, but there is no dearth of technical expertise, that perhaps

we can learn more than we teach We came to know Tatiana Vahrameeva, who administers the Kizhi Museum and who struggles with the procurement of funding for the restoration of The Church of the Transfiguration, a struggle that, at the time of this writing, has yet to be

w o n

The Church of the Transfiguration, with its 22 onion domes, remains the sole example of the culmination of the development of the multi-domed wooden church There is a poetic legend about the craftsman builder of the church Having completed the edifice, he threw his axe into nearby Lake Onega, saying, "This church was built by Master Nestor; there never was, nor will be another one to match it." The Church has been cited by some his- torians as an example of an architects' extravagance and loss of control over materials and proportions It is certainly an illustration of a carpenter pushing a technique to its furthest limits and a remarkable example of a particular climax in the formal development of a style However, the key to its interpretation as an architectural masterpiece is not because of its sheer size, its magnificent form, the complex details of its construction, or the fact that it was built using only axes and adzes and without metal nails, though these issues are for- midable The Church of the Transfiguration is quite simply a masterpiece of log engineering The building forms and structure are superbly integrated This is why this structure is worthy

of being the focus of this "global forum."

What Are the Proper Approaches to Restoration?

be supported by the carcass when loads from snow and wind are at their greatest In the summer, the wood structure shrinks due to lowered moisture content and the metal carcass

expands due to thermal expansion This opposing behavior o f the wood and steel due to these seasonal changes will damage the more fragile wood structure more and more unless the system is carefully and constantly monitored and some form of remedy is provided The answer is to remove the metal carcass and re-establish structural integrity

The most controversial and radical solution discussed has been the total dismantling and reconstruction of the Church, while replacing those wooden elements that are damaged and decayed Dismantling could make a restoration project become much larger than previously envisioned It is likely that the dismantled building would prove difficult to reassemble It would also b e c o m e too easy to replace parts of the original fabric for the sake of convenience rather than for purely technical reasons than would occur if the structure was conserved without dismantling Consequently, the building would loose authenticity Philosophically, the original wood structure should be considered the most reliable one It was born in the creation process, works in complete harmony with the construction, and can only exist to- gether with all original parts of the building This brings to mind one of the parables of Jesus, " N o one sews a patch of unshrunken cloth to an old coat; for then the patch tears away from the coat and leaves a bigger hole ''4 Like the use of consolidant treatments on stone masonry, dismantling should be used only as a last resort and only if all other, less intrusive approaches have been exhausted Dismantling has been ruled out as a possible treatment at The Church of the Transfiguration

It has been agreed that structural intervention should be minimal and should not change the essence of the structure Piskunov's engineering solution was summarized in the follow- ing fashion, "the p r i n c i p l e , is, in our opinion, to insert additional engineering devices at the minimum and to use the potentialities of the original structure at the maximum ''5 This approach is the same as has been reached by my colleague, Professor Predrag Gavrilovi~ of the Seismology Institute (IZIIS) in Skopje, Macedonia, for restoration of Byzantine churches constructed of masonry, which he refers to as "the principle of minimum i n t e r v e n t i o n - - maximum protection ''6 Of course, both of these principles reflect my own philosophy: "The goal of the conversation engineer is to stabilize the structure with the minimum interven- tion ''7 It is apparent that this principle can hold true for all built heritage and not just that constructed of wood The world community appears to be in harmony in this regard, as reflected in such conventions as the Venice Charter

Material Aspects

The other problem, of course, is how to protect the wood material from decay caused by moisture, organic growth, and insect infestations Here is where a look at the diverse cultural aspects of wood heritage come into play First, the building typology of Russian wood architecture is distinct from that of the Norwegian Stavkirke, the churches o f southeastern Poland, and Japanese temples and pagodas Each building type has its own water shedding and moisture drying aspects that are defined by their evolved cultural forms Second, different

4 Matthew 9:16

5 Piskunov, Y V., Inspection of the Transfiguration Church and Analysis of Its Major Bearing Struc- tures, Kirov, Vyatka, Russia, 1994

the World heritage convention and ICOMOS met in Japan in 1994 and drafted the Nara Document on Authenticity These maintenance techniques have been successful based on the fact that the Heddal Stavkirke is between 650 to 750 years old and the Horyu-ji Temple complex, near Nara, Japan, believed to be the oldest wooden structure in the world, is more than 1300 years old At The Church of the Transfiguration, the approaches of boarding, painting, and dismantling are not in keeping with their traditions As Laht tells us, "wooden buildings can not be preserved f o r e v e r , all that can be accomplished is to slow down the process of decay." In the paper by Miltchik, we are told that the Church was once covered with vertical boarding This was done at a time when Russia was looking westward and emulating her western European neighbors The boarding was removed in the 20th century

to express the true folk craft and architecture of the region and, consequently, exposing the logs to weathering from rain and ultraviolet rays Though boarding would provide long-term protection from the elements, there seems to be no turning back

Craft techniques themselves pose their own problems, as is exemplified in the Kudrjavtseva

et al paper Here the author is critical of a restoration and partial reconstruction where traditional techniques were abandoned and the appearance of the restored structure was altered In contrast, the Kairamo paper suggests that appropriate crafts persons can be located and trained

Currently, conservation treatments of wooden elements of building generally entail the use

of chemicals With the use of chemicals over time, one must consider the possible conse- quences of their use In particular, toxic chemicals could conceivably affect the environment

as well as the health of the conservator and the unknowing public that visits the heritage site An honest assessment of this eventuality is given by Laht, where a dizzying array of chemicals used at the Estonian Open Air Museum over a period of many years is now discussed in the terms of pollution Vilkonciene gives a description of traditional regimen of

chemical conservation treatments on a Lithuanian Garner Sheetz discusses the avant garde

use of borate pellets on totem pole conservation in Alaska Munck et al describe wood treatments using ra~io waves, microwaves, and heat treatments in Denmark where the use

of chemicals is no longer allowed

The Wood Frame Heritage

The majority of the remaining papers from western Europe and the United States stand out from the previously discussed papers in that they deal with braced frame and balloon frame structures rather than structures composed of logs Framed structures vary from log structures because, in most cases, the framed structure is covered with a protective cladding that bears the brunt of the weather Therefore the cladding can become decayed without loss

of integrity to the protected frame The Church of the Transfiguration has no such sacrificial layer

What can the West learn from this exchange on wood log heritage in northern Europe? All of the pathologies discussed with wood log heritage will one day be the problems we

face with our much younger heritage in North America A review o f the discussions in this book on the older frame heritage of western Europe will bear out this fact We learn that problems are often very complex and that solutions are often elusive We learn that there are consequences to our actions each time we intervene, even with the best of intentions

We see that some of the most challenging problems are the direct result of previous interventions

Munck et al describe pathologies relative to wood decay that are similar to those expe- rienced with wood log buildings However, in the "environmentally conscious" society of Denmark, new techniques are described to treat fungal growth that do not use chemicals These environmentally friendly techniques will no doubt catch on in other countries in the future Palaia-Prrez offers a fascinating case study from the city of Valencia She describes

a methodology that uses the medical terminology of anamnesis, diagnosis, treatment, and

c o n t r o l - - a way of thinking that I adopted myself several years ago Yeomans et al describes the thought process behind the restoration of a medieval braced frame barn structure This case study is distinct because the issues discussed deal with structural rather than material aspects

Lewandoski offers a methodology for the diagnosis and treatment of framed structures based on his extensive experience with this topic O'Bright and Drone offer case studies that deal with the environs of presidential h o m e s - - t h e Ulysses S Grant Homestead and the Abraham Lincoln National Historic Site Foster gives us a case study of restoration of a wood frame house of "blue collar" origins The American examples of wood-built heritage stand apart from their European counterparts because they are smaller, less complex, and more humble This is not surprising of a young nation with transplanted building traditions that did not come into its own until the turn of the last century and has as its architectural icon the skyscraper rather than the log cabin

Two papers stand apart from the others Sheetz discusses the preservative treatments used for the totem poles of Sitka, Alaska Here the log itself becomes important as an object to

be conserved rather than just an element of a larger whole Hughes presents an intriguing paper and deals with the abandoned wood heritage in Antarctica left by numerous national research missions New decay problems that are unique to this region of the world are described Hughes shows us that there are new frontiers in this field and, at the beginning

of the 21st Century, we still have our work cut out for us

Conclusions

Have we achieved a true global forum in the preparation of this book? A book of this kind, which tries to equally represent the world view, will always fall short of its goal I regret that there is not a Japanese paper in the book, nor is there a contribution from Sweden

or from our Canadian colleagues to the north The archipelago of Chilo6 off the Pacific Coast

of Argentina with its collection of ancient wood frame churches is not mentioned, nor is any of the wooden heritage on the continents of Africa, Asia, and Australia I am convinced there are stunning examples o f wood-build heritage that could have been included in this publication But I believe we have succeeded in sharing ideas from northeast Europe and North America

I would like to heartily thank the International Council on Monuments and Sites for the opportunity we received to consult on a once-in-a-lifetime venture Thanks to Andrew Powter

OVERVIEW xiii

tribution I would like to thank the peer reviewers for their thankless task of tackling these difficult papers A special thanks to Gunny Harboe who helped us locate and edit the paper from Denmark I would like to thank my co-editors, Joseph R Loferski, Alexander Salon- ikovich, and E George Stem, who solicited additional papers from abroad and who spent countless hours editing copy I think the end product of their labors does credit to our authors

My assistant, Laura Altman, deserves special thanks for her endless patience in preparing this book And a last thank you to ASTM for helping us with this publication

Stephen J Kelley

Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc Chicago, IL

STP editor

Greg C Foliente j

History of Timber Construction

Reference: Foliente, G C., "History of Timber Construction," Wood Structures: A Global Forum on the Treatment, Conservation, and Repair of Cultural Heritage, ASTM STP 1351, S J Kelley, J R Loferski, A J Salenikovich, and E G Stem, Eds.,

American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken, PA, 2000

Abstract: The history of timber construction is presented from prehistoric to modem

times, from the simple hut to multi-purpose halls, from trial-and-error construction to one based on engineering design and analysis, from simple beams and posts to modem spatial systems The development of common timber construction forms and methods are briefly discussed Wood, our only basic renewable resource, has been an important part of man's built environment For this to continue in the future, developments in timber engineering and related technologies should meet the needs and challenges demanded by building occupants and by society, in general

Keywords: history, timber, wood, structures, house, building

Introduction

From the earliest known years of man's existence, trees and wood have provided him with fuel, tools, food and shelter As his needs evolved, so did his use of wood The history of timber construction is traced in this paper from prehistoric to modem times, from the simple hut to multi-purpose halls, from trial-and-error construction to one based

on engineering design and analysis, from simple beams and posts to modem spatial systems Some advanced structures today can usually be traced back to their generic ancestors in concept [1] A few early building concepts even fulfilled their requirements,

in some places of the world, so effectively that its design and construction have remained unchanged through hundreds of years Recent technologies have, however, opened exciting new possibilities in timber construction

Wood is the oldest building material capable of transferring tension and

compression forces making it naturally suited as a beam element It has a very high strength to weight ratio Its workability and versatility - i.e., easily cut and joined using simple tools, materials and techniques, bent into desired shapes, and pulped or exploded into its constituent fibers or chipped into small pieces and then reconstituted - are well recognized Wood possesses exceptional impact strength, effective thermal insulating Principal research scientist and project leader, CSIRO Building, Construction and Engineering, P.O Box 56, HigheR, Victoria 3190 Australia

3 Copyright9 by ASTM International www.astm.org

properties, high electrical resistance when dry and effective resistance to atmospheric pollution, sea air and chemicals The beauty and feelings of warmth and intimacy it offers are unmatched Among the major construction materials, wood uses the least amount of energy to process and manufacture and, unlike other industrial materials, is renewable The unique properties and ready availability of wood have made it a very important contributor to the advance of civilization and the development of society [2-4]

Prehistory and Early Civilizations

Early Shelter

Man's early culture consisted mainly of a struggle for food and defense His shelter provided the latter The earliest known use of wood in shelter is as beams to support the earth covered roof in pit dwellings or as posts in earth lodges and/or tent-like huts of branches and twigs In some places during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic times, a ring of branches were dug firmly in the ground and bent over towards the center where they were interlaced and bound together [5] (Figures 1 a and b) The use of large-diameter tree trunks or branches was initially avoided, if possible, because cutting them across the grain with the available tools (probably chipped or polished stone axes and/or animal teeth) was difficult Interwoven branches and other vegetable materials then filled the continuous wall and roof frame Houses on the Turkish-Iranian border (c 9000 BC) had oval or circular stone bases containing hearths and supported a light superstructure of daub and wattle, or reeds, or matting [6] The frame was typically made from branches that were lashed together with roots, leaf fibers or climbing plants These early forms (Figures 1 a to c) seem to have been strongly influenced by cave shelters in shape and plan

Other building shapes, such as conical domes and cylindrical lattice houses with rectangular plans, appeared c 8000-7000 BC (e.g., Figures ld to f) Neolithic settlements continued the trend for round hut shelters but the use of rectangular ground plans became more widespread [6], probably because the use of heavier horizontal beams for walls and roofs favored a rectangular plan The break from the curved or circular plan to a

rectangular plan spurred the development and understanding of wall and multi-story systems By 6500-6000 I3C, two-story houses had been built in Anatolia and Cyprus, where the first story walls were made of mud brick with stone foundations and the upper story was typically timber-framed [6] Houses in various locations in Greece (c 4000 BC), had walls and roofs made of intertwined reeds fastened to a wooden framework, and plastered with clay, or were covered with brushwood, rushes, or straw with or without the impervious coating of clay [5] Copper tools were already available at this time making possible a relatively easier way to cut wood across the grain and to fashion effective ways

of joining timber members Mortised joints, one of the most important techniques that made possible the construction of early buildings of various forms and sizes, probably developed near forested regions first and became more common and fully developed during the Iron Age (It has been suggested that the builders of Stonehenge in England, c

2000 to 1500 BC, had probably taken the mortise and tenon technique of the woodworker

in fitting their huge trilithons together [7].)

FOLIENTE ON HISTORY OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 5

Figure 1 - Types and forms of man's early shelter: (a) Palaeolithic round huC (b) South African hut," (c) circular earth lodge; (d) lashed frame barrel vault with bark sheets; (e) lashed heavy pole frame with thatched roof" 09 hut with cylindrical clay wall

Slightly different forms developed later in other parts o f the world The Great Plains Indians o f North America, for example, modified the hut to a cone o f wooden poles lashed together only at the top (called a tipi or tepee) The taut membrane o f animal skins pegged tightly about the frame held the structure firm by counterposing tensile stresses in the cover against the compressive strength o f the poles [8] In other places, the coverings were constructed of bark sandwiched between two sets o f poles, one inside and one out [9] Tartar tribesmen in Central Asia devised a demountable hut, called ayurt

(Figure 2a), in which scissors trellis o f pivoted wooden sticks carded a cone of poles socketed into a wooden ring They lashed felted mats over the framed lattice to create a

warm and effective temporary shelter in severe and demanding climate The yurt is light yet solid and strong and most important, the entire yurt could be broken down and folded together into pack load for ease of transportation [1, 8] Wooden poles were extensively used in tents The wooden framework of the mat tents of the Tuaregs of Africa consists of

a grid of arches or semi-arches like a grid-shell (Figure 2b)

Figure 2 - Wooden frame of pastoral shelters: (a) the yurt (from [10]); (b) the

Tuaregs ' mat tent [11]

Requiring a different kind of building skills and sophistication, people in some other parts of the world lived in tree-dwellings and pile-dwellings In the former, people built ladders and floors from tree branches and trunks Pile-dwellings were common near lakes and swamps (also called lake-dwellings) Long wooden poles were driven securely into the bed of the lake or deep into swampy ground and wooden floors were built tying the poles together Walls and roofs were typically thatched The biggest collection of lake-dwellings in England, believed to have been built more than two thousand years ago

in Somerset, showed woodworking and jointing techniques of"astonishing ingenuity"

the concept of building on stilts was born [1] This type of construction was, and still is, heavily practiced in parts of Asia, Africa, Polynesia and South America

Ancient Civilizations

Mesopotamia and Egypt, the early centers of human civilization, and surrounding areas did not have a bountiful supply of timber But the earliest deducible works of Egyptian architecture reflected wide use of supporting wooden frames hung with mats alongside buildings of brick and stone [13] Recorded impressions from cylinder seals and mud plaster on the roofs of the Royal Tombs of the first dynasty (c 3000 BC) suggest that the tent-palaces of the kings of Upper Egypt were timber-framed

construction with vertical walls and a curved roof [13] Both light wood-framed

construction - reed hut with domed roof [5] - and wood frame construction made of laths covered with matting or frames with an infill of wattle and daub, clay mortar and rushes,

or bricks [6, 13] were found in Egypt Imported timbers from Lebanon and Syria were used in the construction of most buildings like temples and palaces [6], large vessels and

FOLIENTE ON HISTORY OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 7

with mortise and tenon joints were available c 2600 BC Leather thongs sometimes reinforced the joints The early Egyptian woodworker had a high degree of

craftsmanship Furniture wood pieces were joined by dovetailing, by copper bands and, c

1440 BC, by bronze pins or nails [14]

The famed Cedars of Lebanon framed Solomon's temple in the first millennium

BC Also, some timber bridges had been known to exist around this time, including an 11.0-m bridge at the palace of Minos, and Nebuchadnezzar's timber bridge which rested

on more than a hundred piers to link the two parts of Babylon across the Euphrates river

[7]

The earliest form of Greek temple, made up of a closed hall and an open portico bounded by posts that support the roof, was thought to be patterned after Greek dwelling

houses, which were built with timber frames and infill of clay or sun-dried bricks [13]

Construction of the outer columns, including details of the abacus, eventually evolved from wooden pole into stone (e.g., the Mycenaean stone capital) Even after the transition from building in wood to building in stone occurred in Greek architecture, some temples continued to have timber roof supports, ceilings and/or wood panelling Early Roman temples had similar components of wood Later Roman monumental buildings were seldom made of wood, but dwelling houses and modest secular buildings in Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae, for example, were typically timber-framed, with brickwork

and mortar infill [13]

Development of Early Construction Forms

Wood was the dominant building material in Northern Europe during the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance The carpenter was in the forefront of technical invention and wood played a predominant part in all operations of industry [4, 8] Mumford [2]

considered the time between the tenth to eighteenth century as the eotechnic or water-

and-wood phase and viewed the developments in this period as the foundations of the industrial revolution

Developments in timber construction did not occur successively The forms and methods of construction in various places depended on the type of available timber, the conditions of use, and the culture and local traditions of the people In this section, the developments in early common forms of timber construction are discussed Some forms and techniques had clearly been passed on from one place to another (e.g., countries within Europe and from Europe to North America), and in most cases modified locally, while others developed in various places in parallel with or independent of other

developments elsewhere

Palisade or Stave Construction

Early wood buildings with solid walls had split trunks set vertically edge to edge in

or on the ground (Figure 3a) In one excavation in moor settlements in Neolithic

Germany, solid walls of vertical split trunks embedded in a wall trench and a beam with

mortise holes lying in front of the open hearth were found [5] Although this palisade or

stave type of construction was easy to erect, the trunks were soon found to be susceptible

to dry rot when embedded into the ground Thus, horizontal sills of wood or masonry

were soon introduced A horizontal plate at the top o f the staves was later added and the

timber trunks were grooved along the side and tongues o f wood let in

This stave construction continued through the Iron Age to Norman times

(especially in building churches in Denmark, Norway, England and parts o f central

Europe) and was brought to North America by early French settlers along the Mississippi

R i v e r [5, 15] It is estimated that between eight hundred to a thousand stave churches, in

Norway alone, were built from the eleventh to the fourteenth century [16] More than

thirty stave churches survive today (e.g., the Greensted church in Essex, England built c

AD 1013 [1]) The early staves were half-thinks but were trimmed to form planks, with

fiat faces front and back, or squared timbers in later buildings [5]

Figure 3 - Timber frame construction." (a) palisade or stave [8]; (b) log-cabin [8],'

(c) straight-braced frame with post and pan construction [5]; (d) square-paneled frame

Log-Cabin Construction

Large farmhouses in Central Europe c 900 BC had logs placed horizontally on top

of one another to form walls [5] This type o f construction came to be known as log-cabin

houses in Poland c 700 BC [1, 13] Archaeological evidence and early historical

accounts suggest the use o f log construction in Scythia and Germany from the Neolithic

period [1] The first buildings were constructed o f peeled logs only roughly notched at the

FOLIENTE ON HISTORY OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 9

techniques at the building comers were developed Square-hewn logs or sawn planks

were also used later, especially after the establishment of saw mills at the beginning of

the sixteenth century This development allowed cutting of planks with mortises and

tenons along their length and the development of better, weatherproof joints Unlike walls with round logs which previously could be joined only at the comers, those with

rectangular interlocking logs could be joined anywhere along the length of the wall

allowing better transfer of loads Larger structures, including five- and six-story log

buildings, became feasible

Many domestic, farm and church buildings in Europe, Russia, Asia Minor and the

Himalayas were of the log-cabin type This type of construction had also been practiced

in Japan as early as the Yayoi Period (250 BC to AD 200) [17] Eastern Europe has been called the "home of log-building" [1] because of its extensive use of this type of

construction using the axe as the main tool One log building that had been built as early

as the thirteenth century and others built later still survive today Some buildings had

mixed log-cabin (usually the first story) and stave (usually the second story) construction One of the most magnificent of all log buildings is the Church of Transfiguration in

Kizhi, Russia, which was built in 1714 (Figure 4) It consists of a series of octagonal

plans set on top of each other in pyramidal form, surmounted by a total of twenty-two

onion-shaped domes which were clad with elongated lozenge-shape wooden shingles

fixed in place by wooden pegs The creative and masterful use of wood in this structure

"represents the highest attainment in Russian wooden architecture" [1] and makes it

"among the architectural masterpieces of the world" [13]

Figure 4 - The Church of the Transfiguration in Kizhi, Karelia, Russia (photo by J

The log-cabin type o f construction was introduced in North America by Swedish

(first along the Delaware River), Finnish, Scotch-Irish and German immigrants during the

mid-seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries [1, 15] This type o f construction can be

thought o f as the forerunner o f the m o d e m shear structural system [18]

Timber-Frame Construction

Timber frame construction probably developed from early tent-like frame to the

simple cruck frame, to cruck frame with collar and tie beams, and eventually to the post

and truss/rafter frame [1], Figure 5a In any case, timber frame or half-timber

construction had been practiced as early as 6500 BC [6] In some parts o f Europe (r

5500-2500 BC), dwellings o f rectangular plan with single or multiple rows of posts to

support the roof were common [5] Buildings with elongated rectangular plans (e.g,

Figure 1 e), allowing the addition o f as many bays as needed, were constructed because

farmers needed larger buildings to store grain and crops Frames were first made of

lashed poles and the roofs were constructed o f rafters and purlins and thatched (Figure

1 g) The walls were interwoven branches or wattle or, in forest zones, split logs [5, 8]

Jointing methods evolved from lashing to notching to cutting o f mortises and tenons The

latter made possible the construction o f timber buildings of various forms and sizes

Figure 5 - Possible evolution of heavy timber construction." option (1) is from

reference [1];for option (2), see also Figure 3

In places where stave and/or log constructions were common, builders learned to

dispense with the heavy log or plank irifills between posts The solid walls required a lot

o f timber and in areas with diminishing supply, the practice o f filling interspaces between

upright timbers with other materials such as plastered panels became more common

Many variations in the construction o f these walls were practiced in the next fifteen

hundred years [5] - from the simple to the more complex wattle and daub, to bricks laid

in various pattems The solid timber walls were replaced first by closely spaced posts

(e.g., Figure 3c) - with continuous timber uprights from floor to ceiling, mortised top

and bottom into horizontal wall-plates and sills - and later, as timber demand for other

uses increased and the available supply for buildings decreased, by more widely spaced

FOLIENTE ON HISTORY OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 1 1

posts (Figure 3d) - with horizontal timbers connecting the timber posts that divided the

framework roughly into squares (known as square-panelled construction)

English immigrants brought these construction techniques to North America during

the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries The classical saltbox type of house in New

England - with the exclusion of the brick and covering of oak or pine clapboards -

evolved from adaptations to the pattern of the English timber frame house to provide

more protection against the severe weather There are about eighty seventeenth-century

timber-frame buildings that are still extant in the United States (US) [1]

In Europe, the frames were universally made with oak timbers The developed

skills of the carpenters in the Middle Ages enabled them to construct some of the largest

(six to seven stories in height) and most imaginative buildings of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance [I] It is thought that timber framing (of the type discussed here) reached its

highest development during the Renaissance, when glass became more available and used

in windows, and decorative infill panels were common

Roof Beams, Arches, and Trusses

A roof structure is a fundamental part of any building Timber had a significant role

from the earliest roofs ever built and has remained one of the most common material for

roof-building The simplest use of wood in roofing is as horizontal beams, e.g., in

primitive pit dwellings or simple frames, or as poles or rafters leaning on a central post

Later combinations of these two basic types developed into other roof types that reached

its potential in the hammer-beam roof, where short horizontal beams, or hammers,

supported by wall-posts and braces project from the face of the wall to support the main

arch (Figure 6) This type of construction allowed construction of buildings with spans as

much as 20 m without any intermediate support The roofs of the Westminster Hall, built

in 1395, and the Eltham Palace, built in 1405 in England, are prime examples of this

construction type The hammer-beam roof of Westminster Hall was more of a stiffened

arch than a real modem truss [19]

Figure 6 - The hammerbeam roof structure (from [20])

Unlike the concept of a modem truss, where all joints are assumed pinned, the

traditional historic trusses consisted of flexural elements strengthened by a system of

additional ties, struts, etc [21] Bracing of posts against overtuming and rafters against

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in-plane and lateral instability were probably one of the first ways braced timber systems developed [22] When joints that resist tension forces were needed, timber members were interlocked together with more complicated mortises and pegged by wooden dowels (It

is relatively more difficult to make joints capable of transmitting and developing the tensile strength of the wood fibers.) Common rafters with braced collar and scissors, then trusses with queen posts, king post, and other combinations soon appeared Once more effective tension joints were developed, especially with the increasing use of iron ties and dowels, longer span trusses were built Gauld [23] provides a brief overview of European timber roof trusses prior to 1900

Wooden deck bridges have been built using simple beams, strutted beams and arches since the Roman times Timber arches were used in a bridge that was built by Emperor Trajan's troops over the Danube River in AD 106 [19, 24] Through-truss timber bridges evolved from these simple forms and by the thirteenth century were common in Switzerland and Germany Influenced by Swiss and German builders, Palladio built wooden arched-truss bridges, spanning more than 30 m, in Italy (c 1550) (see also [22]) The Grubeumann brothers (Germany, c 1778) built many long-span timber bridges - one had a maximum span of about 118 m [24, 25])

It is noteworthy to point out that the first known glued laminated timber was used

in Wiebeking's bridge in Altenmarkt, Bavaria in 1809 [26] Two years earlier, Wiebeking also pioneered the use of mechanically bolted timber laminations in arch bridges; one of his bridges spanned 61 m Similar bridge construction methods were practiced in France

in the 1820's and in England in the 1830's

Many timber truss bridges were built in Europe, Russia and the US in the beginning

of railroad construction James [25, 27] provides an extensive discussion of the evolution

of timber bridge trusses to 1850 (see also American Wooden Bridges [28])

Oriental Buildings

Far Eastern timber architecture developed independently of Ettropean efforts and was already fully developed by the time East-West contacts became more established Timber construction in China dates back to the first millennium BC, and possibly earlier

A common method of connecting timber beams and columns was with the use of a bracket set - composed of a cap-block, a wooden block in the shape of an inverted tnmcated pyramid placed on top of the column, and two pieces of wood fitted into the cap-block perpendicular to each other (Figure 7a) The use of this jointing technique in Chinese architecture first appeared c 1056-771 BC [29] Its development reached maturity between the seventh and thirteenth centuries The Yingxian Pagoda, with a 51.14-m high main timber body, was constructed in AD 1056 using extensive use of bracket sets and other traditional Chinese timber joinery This structure has survived five major earthquakes and is still extant today There are more than a dozen timber buildings

in China that are at least one thousand years old [29]

FOLIENTE ON HISTORY OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 13

Figure 7 - Jointing techniques in oriental timber construction." (a) Chinese bracket

set [29]; (b) Japanese joinery [17]

Although timber buildings had been built in Japan for dwellings, palaces,

storehouses and Shinto shrines and the family carpentry guilds had already been formed

long before Buddhism was introduced in the sixth century, the immigrant Buddhist

carpenters from Korea brought Chinese building influence that contributed significantly

to Japanese architecture and woodworking and jointing techniques The Golden Hall and

the five-story Pagoda of the Horyu-ji Temple (Figure 8a), built in the seventh century, are the oldest existing wooden buildings in the world [30] The Golden Hall of the Todai-ji

Temple (Figure 8b), built in the 8th century and rebuilt in the 18th century, is the world's

largest non-engineered wooden building [30] The Japanese mortise and tenon jointing

methods developed into an art form and have become a unique feature of traditional

Japanese architecture (Figure 7b) Many of these joints are still used today in the

construction of Shinto shrines, Buddhist temples or residences; but no carpenter is

deemed qualified to build all three types of construction since specific joints are typically

reserved for only one type of construction [17]

Figure 8 - Japanese temples." (left) the Pagoda in Horyu-ji Temple and (right) the

The basic structure of most Buddhist temples and pagodas is that of post-and-beam

set on a base of stonework, sometimes with additional tiers of columns raised on top

Triangulation to support massive complex roofs were avoided in favor of the Chinese

tradition of using short beams and/or brackets, supported by close columns transmitting

loads vertically to the foundations Unlike religious buildings in Europe, most Buddhist

buildings have simple and symmetric plans (the most common shape being octagon,

hexagon, circle or square), and uniform (with only gradual changes in height) and

symmetric elevations Some have simple rectangular plans with few subdivisions, with

many-tiered tower structures standing in walled and colonnaded precincts [1]

Japanese domestic buildings, on the other hand, developed with little influence

from the Chinese culture The country's climate necessitated building on stilts to allow

ventilation beneath the floor The shoin-zukuri style, with free and asymmetrical plan,

four- to five-inch square posts and widely overhanging roofs and verandas, has

dominated Japanese domestic architecture since the eleventh century [1, 17]

The Industrial Revolution

Bricks were used extensively in the beginning of the industrial revolution in

England and later in the rest of Europe Wrought iron was first used mainly to strengthen

timber and masonry systems Wooden trusses, especially with forged straps and improved

bolting, were used for roofs and road and railway bridges During the late 18th century,

cast iron started to replace heavy wooden beams and posts in multi-story (mill) buildings

because of higher fire insurance premiums in the latter By the 1850's, bigger and taller

structures used wrought iron and steel The former was used in the Eiffel Tower

construction in Paris and the latter, together with the invention of the elevator, begat the

skyscraper in New York and Chicago in the 1880's The introduction of and

developments in reinforced concrete in about the same time period further crowded the

market for building materials Wood, however, continued to be the chief material in

furnishings of all types of buildings, including commercial, industrial and residential

At the height of the industrial revolution in Europe, the US, with its abundant

timber supply, was enjoying its wooden age which peaked at the turn of the 19th century,

about two hundred years after it did in Europe [4] American carpenter-builders had

major contributions to timber construction They are credited to have perfected the timber

truss bridge in forms suited to mass production and capable of carrying railway loads [25,

27] and to have helped in the development and use of beam trusses, as opposed to

European builders' arch trusses [22]

In 1833 in Chicago, the invention of the balloon framing, where uniform lengths of

thin pieces of timber known as studs precisely spaced, braced and nailed together

constituted the complete structural framework, started a revolutionary method of

construction; it begat a later variation known as platform framing This system of

construction was made possible by the introduction of mechanical sawmills, making

possible the supply of great quantities of planks and boards, and the mass production of

nails The balloon and platform framing methods sharply reduced the total labor cost of

construction and made it possible to substitute relatively less skilled workers because

there was no longer a need for mortise and tenon joints The methods also lent itself to

greater flexibility in construction options and to pre-fabrication The flexible interior

FOLIENTE ON HISTORY OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 15

arrangement of Victorian houses was thought to be partly due to the introduction of ballon-frame construction [15] These light-frame methods of timber construction have since dominated low-rise residential and non-residential construction in the US

Following the 1871 Chicago fire that destroyed a great part of the city, "what had been done in wood was re-created in iron" [14] New constructions in cities followed the vogue of skyscrapers and of using steel and reinforced concrete Developments in

strength of materials and structural theory accelerated during this period The modem period of structural engineering is thought to have started when Whipple published a method of truss analysis c 1850 [31] With the introduction of engineering analysis and calculations, knowledge of the mechanical properties of building materials became a necessity Strength properties of common timber species started to get published in

Europe, North America and Australia in the second half of the 19th century

Twentieth Century Developments

Research

While strength testing of timber had been part of the early developments in strength

of materials and theory of elasticity starting in Galileo's tests of timber beams c 1638

twentieth century Forest products studies were first conducted in a few universities and government institutions and in 1910, the US Forest Products laboratory (FPL), the

world's first, and for sometime the only comprehensive laboratory dedicated to wood research, was established in Madison, Wisconsin [4] Out of the wood mechanics studies that ensued emerged a system of grading rules, working stresses, and design

specifications that formed the basis for the use of wood as a structural material The move from a trial-and-error approach in the use of wood (as the woodworker did from the beginning) to one with a scientific basis was in high gear Researchers studied the effects

of fire, drying and preservatives on mechanical properties, and the design and behavior of connections and wood assembly systems, and published this wealth of knowledge in the first edition of the Wood Handbook in 1935 Work at FPL contributed in the preparation

of wood-related standards (e.g ASTM) and codes, provided practical information to engineers, builders and homeowners, assisted the forest products industry and influenced forest products research worldwide [33] Similar application of research results to

practical timber construction issues also happened in Europe and Australia [34]

Recent developments in wood engineering and construction, including the state of the art and research needs at the end of the twentieth century, are reviewed in [35]

Key Products

Many wood and wood-based products have been introduced in the twentieth

century, but two stand out in their unique contributions to wood construction: plywood and glued-laminated (glulam) timber

With animal and vegetable glues, the plywood that was produced early this century was restricted for interior uses, e.g cabinets, doors and furniture Production did not expand significantly until after World War I The use of synthetic resin adhesives in 1935

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in bonding veneers produced "exterior" plywoods that were used in boats and outdoor

construction [15] The use of resin-bonded Douglas-fir plywood grew steadily and in

1963 the first Southern pine plywood was introduced These panels were used as

underlayments for floors, walls and roofs and/or as finish materials Plywood's main

structural use is to transfer in-plane shear forces, as in wood shear walls and diaphragms,

and shell-type structures Since then, other wood-based panels, e.g oriented strand board

(OSB), have been introduced for similar applications

Beams and arches have been built up from layers of timber for many hundreds of

years, and the first glulam had been used in a 42-m span bridge in 1809 in Bavaria [26]

In Australia, glulam members have been found in a church building, which was built in

1868 in Victoria [36] The German carpenter Otto Hetzer obtained the first known patent

on glulam construction in 1900 and pioneered its use early this century [3 7] However, it

was not until the 1930's when wood adhesives that produced bonds that are stronger than

the bond of the wood cells became available The potential of glulam's extensive

application in construction began to be realized The practical length and cross-sectional

dimensions of structural wood members increased by several factors and curved and/or

tapered members became possible With greater design flexibility, dimensional stability

and strength of glulam members, new uses for wood became possible

Among the most striking glulam structures in the US are the TRESTLE aircraft and

communication system test facility in New Mexico (the largest glulam structure in the

world with nearly 15,350 cubic meters of glulam) and the Tacoma Dome in Washington

state (with a clear span of 162 m) Rhude [38] has presented the history of glulam

construction in the US and Medwadowski [18] has discussed the developments of

modern wood spatial structures in the US and presented several constructed systems

Modern developments in practical timber construction have been realised because

of developments in jointing methods For example, the introduction of metal connector

plates in the US in the 1950's, and in other parts of the world in the 1960's, launched the

automated truss industry and significantly contributed to the viability of timber

construction for residential and low-rise buildings Modern spatial timber structures rely

heavily on specialised connectors to transfer loads Connections between and to wood

components have been both a catalyst and a barrier for timber use in construction [39]

Residential Buildings

Over ninety percent of residential buildings in North America are of light wood-

frame construction (i.e., platform frame or 2x4 construction) In the US, sixty percent of

the available sawn wood is used structurally Other residential building uses of wood

include partitions, door and window frames, etc In Califomia alone, it has been roughly

estimated that the total value of wood in residential housing is at least US$100 billion in

1994 [40] In Japan, eighty percent of the available sawn wood is used structurally

(mostly in post-and-beam construction as pointed out earlier) In Australia, about seventy

five percent of single detached housing is of light timber frame construction

Common timber products used in residential buildings in North America include

sawn timber, plywood, particleboard, OSB, laminated veneer lumber (LVL), trusses, I-

joists, glulam and parallel strand lumber (PSL) Similar products are used in non-

residential building construction

FOLIENTE ON HISTORY OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 17

Non-Residential Buildings

Commercial and industrial timber buildings typically have portal or post-and-beam

frames made of glulam, PSL and/or LVL Truss-beams and I-joists are sometimes used in

floors and roofs In North America, platform frame low-rise commercial buildings are not

uncommon, sometimes walls on 2x4 frames are built atop a first story reinforced concrete

frame Tilt-up warehouse buildings typically have glulam and plywood or OSB roof

frames Expanding the structural timber use in the non-residential market has long been a

priority in North America

Large-span timber structures, most of which use glulam, had been built all over the

world [41, 42] The three 1994 Winter Olympics stadiums in Norway were roofed with

glulam trusses The Hamar Olympic Stadium, has the form of an inverted Viking ship

and was roofed with arched glulam trusses with spans varying between 30.0 m to 96.4 m

The waste recycling hall in Vienna, with a cone saddle shape (170-m diameter at the

base), has a shell-rib glulam structural framework where each radial rib (85-m span) is

suspended from centrally located reinforced concrete mast Natterer et al [41] provided

more details of this and one hundred and sixty five other types of timber roofing structure

that have been constructed for large assembly halls and multi-purpose areas Sample

schematics of selected projects are shown in Figure 9a

The timber grid-shell structure developed by Otto in Europe and employed in a 61-

m span exhibition hall in Mannheim in 1975 was a major development in lightweight

timber roof construction A very similar system was used in building two temporary

pavilions in Japan for the 1988 Nara Silk Road Exposition [30] The lattice framework

was composed of two-fold sawn 7-cm x 4-cm lattice members that were connected by a

9-mm bolt Following a similar concept, a 25-m x 25-m timber grid-shell exposition hall

(Figure 9a, bottom drawing) has been constructed in Switzerland [43]

Sedlak [42] and associates prepared a computer database of worldwide projects

using modem timber spatial systems and studied the statistics and trends of building

shape, structure and architectural applications of more than a hundred of these buildings

- with types ranging from shells, space-grid, lightweight trusses, arches to suspended

structures They found that sixty four of the buildings he considered were high quality

permanent buildings for sport, assembly, multi-purpose, commercial and dwelling uses

Twenty nine percent were quality temporary applications such as structures for

exhibition, environmental protection, experimental and open air stages The rest were

used for lower cost industrial buildings of medium duration Considering the building

volume shape, domes are predominant in multipurpose and industrial, exhibition,

assembly and indoor sports buildings Other building forms include (in descending order

of occurrence) prisms (mainly saddle/tension prisms), vaults (mainly barrel vaults),

cones, pyramids and cylinders Considering structural type, grid-shells (compression and

suspension types) are the most dominant across the entire range of applications

Membrane-shell and ribbed shells are tied in second Cladding is integrated with the

structure and is often either a stressed roof membrane or a conventional waterproof

membrane on timber boarding Timber arches, folded structures, spatial grid, cable-net-

shell, truss and spatial frame have also been used A new field of development is

suspension timber shells, which are able to access a much wider range o f shapes

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F i g u r e 9 - Modern timber structures: (a) Polydome from [43], other drawings from [41],"

(b) Health spa in Bad Duerrheim, Germany: (top) isometric diagram of the structure [44]

and (bottom) interior column support

FOLIENTE ON HISTORY OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 19

State-of-the-art techniques in integrated formfinding and numerically controlled

premanufacturing have been used in the design and construction of glulam timber shells

(e.g., the health spa in Bad Duerrheim, Germany; Figure 9b) Timber structures are not

limited to double curved surfaces, which are typical for membranes and pre-stressed

cable nets When properly designed and manufactured, timber load bearing elements can

be shaped almost arbitrarily with respect to curvature and torsion as demonstrated in the

free-form timber shell roof of the Hoelderlin-Haus in Mautbronn, Germany [44] In this

project, up to two thousand small timber pieces were glued together to form glulam

sections that accommodate the rapid differential change in the longitudinal development

of the beams

Past Contributions and Future Outlook

The versatility and usefulness of wood in its many forms and adaptations

throughout man's existence have made it a major contributor to the advance of

civilization and the development of society, generally, and to developments in

architecture, structural forms and building construction, specifically Wood played an

important part, as test specimens and/or test frames, in the early developments of the field

of strength of materials [24, 32] Elements of ancient Greek architecture evolved from

timber prototypes [13], the Medieval Gothic vault evolved from simple timber roofs and

clay dome or shell vaults with wooden armature as a reinforcing mesh [8], modem

structural framing (in steel and reinforced concrete) and truss systems were first modeled

from timber framing and tress system concepts, and jointing techniques and details for

iron and steel were initially patterned after those in timber [19] Wood and wood-based

products have been used extensively as formworks and/or falseworks in almost all

reinforced concrete structures Public buildings and residential buildings made of timber

have provided man shelter throughout history

Recent advances in structural testing and analysis, manufacturing and construction

techniques, computer technology, materials science and timber engineering technology,

and developments in standards and building codes can be harnessed altogether to

continue the long and rich tradition of building with wood into the future There seems to

be a renewed enthusiasm about the aesthetic properties of timber [21, 30, 45], a great

interest in the use of lightweight materials for space structures [46] and a bright potential

in the use of timber in integrated formfinding and premanufacturing of shell structures

[44]

Wood, our only basic renewable resource, has been an important part of man's built

environment and - if we properly manage our forests, recognize the changing natures of

timber supply and building demand, continue to advance the state-of-the-art in our

knowledge of the properties of old and new wood and wood-based building products and

their fastening systems, and in the analysis, design and construction techniques, and apply them in practice - may continue to be so in the future

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Hollow Restorations.Tarrytown New York, 1975

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[16] Sack, R.L and Aune, P., "The Norwegian stave church: A legacy in wood," Pages 3-

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FOLIENTE ON HISTORY OF TIMBER CONSTRUCTION 21

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[26] Booth, L.G., "The development of laminated timber arch structures in Bavaria,

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[32] Booth, L.G., "The strength testing of timber during the 17th and 18th centuries,"

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Technology in Australia 1788-1988 Australian Academy of Technological

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Goals, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, Virginia, 1998 [36] Nolan, G "Timber building in Australia," Seminar paper, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, 1997, 10pp

[37] Rug, W and Rug, F., "Innovations in timber engineering: Hetzer's method," Procs International Wood Engineering Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1996, 4: 435-442

[38] Rhude, A.J., "Structural glued laminated timber: One hundred years in the making," Procs International Wood Engineering Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana,

1996, 4: 443-448

[39] McLaln, T.E., "Connectors and fasteners: Research needs and goals," Pages 56-69 in

Goals American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Reston, Virginia, 1998

[41] Natterer, J., Goehl, J and Henn, G., "Large halls and roof structures," Pages 75-172

in Goetz, K-H et al., Timber Design and Construction Sourcebook, McGraw-Hill

Inc., New York, 1989

[42] Sedlak, V., "The use of lightweight timber structures in architecture," Procs Pacific Timber Engineering Conference, Gold Coast, Australia, 1994, Vol 1:102-110 [43] Natterer, J., "Lightweight structures in timber," Procs Pacific Timber Engineering Conference, Gold Coast, Australia, 1994, Vol 3:11-19

[44] Linkwitz, K., "Timber shells: Design, formfinding and premanufacturing

demonstrated at three selected structures," Procs International Wood Engineering Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1996, 1 : 3-17

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The Church of The Transfiguration

on Kizhi Island

C o p y r i g h t b y A S T M I n t ' l ( a l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d ) ; S a t D e c 2 6 1 3 : 1 4 : 0 0 E S T 2 0 1 5

D o w n l o a d e d / p r i n t e d b y

U n i v e r s i t y o f W a s h i n g t o n ( U n i v e r s i t y o f W a s h i n g t o n ) p u r s u a n t t o L i c e n s e A g r e e m e n t N o f u r t h e r r e p r o d u c t i o n s a u t h o r i z e d

The Kizhi Pogost Architectural Complex in Old Photographs

Reference: Miltchik, M., " T h e Kizhi Pogost Architectural Complex in Old

Photographs," Wood Structures: A Global Forum on the Treatment, Conservation, and Repair of Cultural Heritage, ASTM STP 1351, S J Kelley, J R Loferski, A J

Salenikovich, and E G Stern, Eds., American Society for Testing and Materials, West Conshohocken, PA, 2000

Translated by Lidia Red'ko

Abstract: The aim of this article is to present the architectural ensemble known as "Kizhi Pogost," as it appeared prior to its restoration and before it was surrounded by an open-air museum The presentation is based on photographs from the period 1912 through the 1920's,

as well as the first accurate map of the entire island of Kizhi in Lake Onega in the State of Karelia, Russia, which dates from 1868

The pogost ensemble - consisting o f the Preobrazhenskaya Tserkva (Church o f the Transfiguration) and the Pokrova Bogoroditsy Sobor (Church o f the Intercession o f the Holy Virgin), its wall of boulders, cemetery, and, beyond the cemetery, the clergymen's house and landing stage - is described The parishioners lived outside the pogost walls in the numerous villages on the island, which are shown on the map, and also on the neighboring islands and the mainland

The plan o f both churches, their structure, and the iron-clad roofs are described The process o f the repair of the churches in the nineteenth century is documented The interior o f Preobrazhenskaya Tserkva is also described The photographs of the Preobrazhenskaya Tserkva show the altar, the icon screen, and "heaven"(the ceiling, which was destroyed during the war) The majority o f the photographs, as well as the map o f the island, are published here for the first time

Keywords: history, photographs

i Vice Director, Professor, St Petersburg Institute of Restoration, State University of Construction & Architecture, St Petersburg, Russia

26 W O O D STRUCTURES: A GLOBAL FORUM

Introduction

The open-air museum, Kizhi Pogost, has risen around the ancient Kizhi parish,

and has changed the scenery of Kizhi Island significantly Kizhi Island is located near

Petroozavodsk, in Lake Onega in the State of Karelia, Russia Restoration works,

performed from 1949 to 1959, have also changed the appearance of the churches within

the pogost or churchyard The purpose of this publication is to make it possible for

readers - by means of the original detailed map of the island from 1868, old photographs

of 1912 to 1930, and without dealing with the analysis of architecture and structure of

buildings - to imagine the island and its churches as they were at the beginning of this

century

Sources of the Photographic Collection

The basic part of the photograph collection the majority of which are published

here for the first time, were taken by the photographer W Masheckin in his travels with

the renowned historian of Russian Architecture, Professor Konstantin Romanov (1882-

1942) In 1912, being the custodian of the Ethnographic Department at the Russian

Museum, he made a journey to study the monuments of public architecture and to collect

examples of the ancient villagers' art Another group of photographs were made in the

summer of 1926 by the photographer A Lyadov while on the expedition of the State

Central Restoration Shops directed by the future academician Igor Grabar (1871-1960)

It was the first time that a description of the icons of the churches had ever been made,

the safety of the churches evaluated, their condition described, and plans for repair work

laid out This repair work was carried out soon thereafter

The interior of the Preobrazhenskaya Tserkva was photographed by the Russian

Fine Arts Historian Fyodor Morozov (1883-1962) while carrying out the survey and

condition assessment begun in 1904 o f artwork by the well known Russian artist Ivan

Bilibin (1876-1942) for the Commission on Conservation of Ancient Monuments of

Karelia This work reveals that the study of the two churches of Kizhi had been launched

as early as 1876 by the architect Leo Dahl (1834-1878) This study attracted the attention

of those involved with the study and conservation o f monuments of Russian folk culture

Archival Maps

The map of Kizhi shown in (Figure 1), which was made in connection with the

first published land survey of the island, shows that during this time period the island was

not covered with forests or shrubs The main part of the island was covered with plowed

fields and arable hayfields, and, in the swampy places and narrow promontories, lay the

pastures for cattle A similar landscape was recorded in photographs of 1912 and the

1930's, as shown in (Figures 2 & 3)

According to the map, in the middle of the 19 th century there were 10 villages on

the island The central village was Selo Kizhskoye It amounted to 14 residential land

plots, the government building of the district, and the parish school All of the houses

were located along the shore to the south of the pogost Nearly all of the plots had their

own bath building or banya, that stood near the shore on piles, hammered vertically into

the bottom of the lake A row of houses in the north was closer to the pogost

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F i g u r e 1 - The map o f Kizhi Island - 1868, Original title of the map is "The map

o f Kizhi Island together with the islands in the possession of State villagers o f

Olhonetskaya Government Petro Zavodskiy Regions's Kizhskiy District survey,

executed in 1868 by the Officers of Corps o f Surveyors "' There are all o f 182

dessyatins 2050 suzhens on the island (1 dessyatina is about 290 acres; 1 suzhen

is 7feet) The legend at the lower left hand side of the map reads, from top to

bottom: the structures and the yards; the plowed fields, the dry-hayfields, the

wet-hayfields, the pastures, the grassy marshes, the mossy marshes, the stony

places, and the vegetable gardens The Russian Historical Archives, storage 380,

Description 17, File 510, page 7

28 WOOD STRUCTURES: A GLOBAL FORUM

F i g u r e 2 - Pogost View o f the churchyard fi'onl the south east hi the 1930

Unknown Photographer 771e State Central Archiw, s Republic q/Karelia 1-539

Negative: Glass 6 x 9

F i g u r e 3 - Pogost General view f r o m the west, from a steamship Photographed

by the K Romanov and IV Masheechkin 1912 The Russian Museum o f

E t h n o g r a p h y - Collection 2521 - 11 - Negative: Glass 18 x 24

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A wooden pier was located in front o f the houses All o f this vanished a long time

ago, yet we might imagine in some degree o f approximation what it was like due to the

photographs o f 1926 shown in (Figure 4)

Figure 4 - Pogost - General viewJrom the south, f r o m a steamship

Photographed by A W Lyadov - 1926 The State Stchusev Research Museum o f

Arehitecture I - 4267, Negative." Glass 13 x 18

The pogost contains two churches, Preobrazhenskaya Tserkva (Church o f the

Transfiguration) and the Pokrova Bogoroditsy Tserkva (Church o f the Intercession o f the

Holy Virgin), with a bell tower between them as shown in the map from 1940 as shown

in (Figure 5) Around the structures lay the cemetery The whole territory o f t h e p o g o s t

was enclosed with a fence o f stacked cobblestones In the second h a l f o f the 18 th century,

according to an engraving o f the time, the top o f the fence walls were covered with the

wooden roof The fence on the map looks like a pentagon that has been elongated in the

north-south direction with a brick gate, placed in the south east side, strictly opposite the

pier, as shown in (Figure 6) Beside the main gate the fence had west, north, and east

wooden wicket gates, as shown in (Figure 7)

Exterior Alteration to the T w o Churches

The horizontal log framing o f all o f three structures o f the pogost were clad at that

time" with boards that were hewn lengthwise with an axe It is believed that the bell tower

was clothed just after construction (1862-1874), however the Preobrazhenskaya Tserkva

stood with uncovered horizontal log framework for 104 years, until 1818

Cladding was installed in an effort to protect the log framework from rot as well

as to address changing tastes in the 19 th century Wooden churches o f the 19 th Century

were constructed in a manner as to appear that they were made o f masonry