In the triumvirate of dominant structural building materials-wood, metal, and masonry-each has its advantages, but none are as intertwined with the human spirit as wood. Thirty-five public buildings illustrate how heavy timber framing can address familiar programmatic issues such as structure, economics, aesthetics, and sustainability. Timber framing can also have a positive effect on human emotions and physiology. In addition to being warm to the touch, wood building interiors have been widely proven to reduce blood pressure and heart rate and to speed convalescence in health care facilities. More than 450 photos, plans, and diagrams show how wood framing components from solid timbers to glulams and peeled logs are designed for durability and expressiveness. The finished projects aptly demonstrate what it means not only to shape buildings, but how they shape us.

Of all the materials on this planet, wood is the most beloved. Heavy wooden timbers artfully crafted into a sturdy house frame held together with mortise and tenon joinery delight the eye and warm the spirit. Over 200 striking color photos and more than 100 line drawings introduce the reader to the advantages of merging traditional timber frame construction with modern, conventional building materials to create stunning hybrid homes for the twenty-first century. These homes blend the beauty of wood and the comfort of conventional building materials. \nThe engaging text provides a detailed history of timber frame construction, details the range of choices available in timber frame hybrid construction, and provides a sweeping photographic essay of fifty building projects representing a wide range of approaches to configurations, styles, surfaces, finishes, and budgets.