TIMBER Design and Fabrication Competition

TIMBER Design + Fabrication Competition

Organized by the Boston Society of Architects, TIMBER Design + Fabrication competition is open for entries. The competition challenges students and recent graduates of architecture and design to propose a site specific installation innovating within New England building and craft traditions, using engineered lumber or heavy timber, to be realized at BSA SPACE (Atlantic Wharf, Boston, Massachusetts) as part of the major exhibition URBAN TIMBER opening February 2014.

Overview

New England was built in timber. The rich history is still alive today in the regional building traditions that have evolved since the birth of the nation. Timber, as a organic renewable material, is now being deployed to address issues of sustainability in contemporary construction. Engineered lumber technologies are pushing the boundaries of wood construction from rural farm houses to complex urban structures and are driving a renaissance of timber construction worldwide.

Today, our urban climate and requirements for building performance are changing and construction technologies and building codes are racing to keep up. The practice of midrise urban timber construction has been successfully implemented in many European countries for more than ten years, and soon the US building code will be amended to allow for midrise timber construction in urban areas.

This competition asks you to draw from New England building and craft traditions to push beyond the conventional use of engineered lumber and heavy timber technologies. Use this opportunity to develop research and explore the possibilities of engineered lumber and heavy timber freed from the limitations inherent within the planning and construction of a traditional building project.

Challenge

Abstract and develop a partial construction addressing at full scale, specific issues of materiality, structure, connection and cladding. Installations must be experimental in nature and push beyond the boundaries of conventional timber construction. Entrants must choose and respond to one of three sites documented for intervention.

3 finalists will each receive grant funding to realize their design. Each finalist will work closely with a professional architectural firm, structural engineer, and material supplier to facilitate the development and fabrication of installations.

Eligibiliy

The competition is open to individuals and teams, with a maximum of three members. Entrants must be current students or graduates of architecture, engineering or design within the last ten years.

The deadline for entries is July 1, 2013.

Boston Society of Architects

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