Timber Tech Studio

Timber Tech Studio is a studio held in Fall 2017 at the School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture at UBC.

It’s focus is parametrically designed structural wood which is robotically fabricated. Students are encouraged to experiment with parametric design and the ability of the industrial robot to expand the fabrication possibilities for wood.

Timber structures have taken many forms throughout the ages and across cultures. Each timber typology reflects the technology, environment and cultural values of their times. Timber structures play a large role in the architecture to which they belong – they simultaneously reflect light and provide mood, express the technology of the time, and provide supporting structure. Use of timber is thus compelling in architecture but the basic form of the structure has not changed significantly over time: many of the timber structures take the form of a post and beam of some description in a hierarchical manner. This studio challenges not only the heirarchy of post and beam but the singularity of its use. Wood can perform as structure, finish, insulation and furniture but a hierarchical use of wood limits its use to only structural and requires other elements to take on other roles. Perhaps new conceptions of wood may take on other roles simultaneously rather than in isolation.