Engineered wood products such as cross-laminated timber have been getting a lot of attention lately. Architect Ronald Gundersen takes a different approach to building with wood. Rather than chipping trees and re-forming the pieces with adhesive, Gundersen’s company, Whole Trees Architecture and Structures, has developed methods for using whole peeled logs for columns and trusses. Logs are delivered to the company’s production facility where they are stripped of bark, treated to make them insect and fire-resistant, and graded for strength. Gundersen said that when properly engineered, whole trees can effectively replace steel and concrete components. From a strength-to-weight perspective, wood is nearly as strong as steel in compression, and is twice as strong in tension.
Read the entire article here: Turning Whole Trees into High-Value Building Materials