Why Trees are Stronger Than Wood

Start Date

01/10/2024

End Date

01/10/2025

Description

Building with trees that are too small to mill (small-diameter round timber) is a sustainable, cost-effective alternative to steel, concrete, and heavy timber products. Historic images and modern examples of round timber construction demonstrate the past and newly emerging benefits of wood as a modern biophilic building material. This course draws on material science to demonstrate the competitiveness of round timber in strength and performance, as well as sharing information on the declining health of forests and lessons learned from 20 years of managing an FSC sustainable forest and learning lab.

Location

Madison, WI

Distance Learning

Course Equivalency

Subjects

Sustainable Development & Design

Health, Safety and Welfare

Yes

Hours

1.0

Learning Outcomes

1.) Participants will be able to name 3 types of historic structures built using small-
diameter round timber

2.) Participants will be able to name a benefit to forest ecosystems and regional economies of building with small-diameter round timbers

3.) Participants will be able to name a performance benefit of using a small-diameter round timber structural system in bending strength, fire rating, fire failure mode, and life cycle performance

4.) Participants will be able to cite advantages of building with small-diameter round timber based on recent research at the USDA Forest Products Lab

Instructors

Amelia Baxter

Course Codes

Provider

WholeTrees Structures

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