Heavy Timber Structures: Creating Comfort in Public Spaces

Explore the physiological and aesthetic benefits of heavy timber construction in public spaces through 35 case studies, including health care facilities, houses of worship, zoos,  museums, and more. 

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.

Rhode Island native Anthony Zaya is president and co-founder of Lancaster County Timber Frames. He holds a master's degree in industrial arts. Tim Diener holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in sculpture from Tyler School of Art of Temple University and a master's degree in Japanese history from Cornell University.