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Fabricated Timber: Vertical Integration of Solid Wood + The Architecture of Manufacturing

Miller, Matthew
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1553613806772075

Abstract Details

2019, MARCH, University of Cincinnati, Design, Architecture, Art and Planning: Architecture.
Mass timber, specifically cross laminated timber, is one of the largest paradigm shifts seen to building structural systems since the industrial revolution and yet it has rarely surfaced as a topic of architectural discourse. By nature of how mass timber is produced, via downstream digital fabrication outputs, its best architectural treatment is explicitly tied to an understanding of how the material is manufactured in the first place. Effective design with timber is not just choosing from a kit of parts, but levering a knowledge of CNC fabrication to produce structural members and thoughtful joint details that support architectural intent. Therefore, this thesis deliberately explores the role of a manufacturing plant within timber production, and how architecture directly interfaces with heavy industry. Emphasis is placed on the role of the factory as a center for outputting mass timber components, while analyzing and critiquing current manufacturing and fabrication practices. As the central linkage between architecture and industry, the factory offers an ideal congruence to showcase mass timber design against its hyper efficient manufacturing environment. The potential for a Midwestern CLT plant is explored through macro and micro site analysis, with the intention of proposing Cincinnati as a potential hub for future timber expansion. Such a proposition offers a chance to expand on the ideas of a vertically integrated system of delivery, and the consequences and opportunities it proposes for architects. Mass timber construction is poised to become one of the next great paradigm shifts in contemporary commercial construction. Its furthered research is invaluable to a larger architectural discourse, both from a sustainable and material-centered vantage point. The robust body of work assembled by this thesis serves to further advance the discussion around timber, focus the material research toward a designed architectural intent, and promote its growing popularity as a sustainable alternate to steel and concrete structural systems.
Vincent Sansalone, M.Arch. (Committee Chair)
Thomas Bible, M.C.E. (Committee Member)
93 p.
Architecture
Timber; Architecture; Manufacturing; Vertical Integration; Mass Timber; CLT

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Miller, M. (2019). Fabricated Timber: Vertical Integration of Solid Wood + The Architecture of Manufacturing [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1553613806772075

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Miller, Matthew. Fabricated Timber: Vertical Integration of Solid Wood + The Architecture of Manufacturing. 2019. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1553613806772075.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Miller, Matthew. "Fabricated Timber: Vertical Integration of Solid Wood + The Architecture of Manufacturing." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1553613806772075

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1553613806772075
280
© 2019, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.