did you say my house is made of balsa wood?

i think it's a matter of tradition and a matter of having a lot of wood to do so.

ok, but tradition can not be the only explanation, I mean even progressive forward thinking architecture is often simply done in wood even if it doesn't look like it or feels like it, what about a material's sincerity and expression... even if I don't want to go into a discussion of good or bad I just want to know why? There's a lot of wood in the US that's right, but is it also sustainably managed, is it cheaper than concrete or brick for example... couldn't other countries use their wood ressources too? why don't they??? and what about natural disasters like storms or fire which regularly destroy hundreds of wood constructions couldn't that be avoided by something just a bit more solid???

yeah i agree with brown666. i used to live in Hong Kong. Everythign in Hong Kong is made out of steel and concrete because we recieve annual typhoons. This is why no one freaks out when a hurricane comes to Hong Kong. And this is why everyone freaks out when a hurricane smashes into Florida.

Maybe it's because we have a very unique culture here in the US: mobility and cheap manufacturing. Houses get destroyed and built in a period of several years. . as if everything is extinguishable (?). Or. . we love cookie cutter houses because they are cheap, and are designed to be built with wood.

exactly justin, you got it. but then who is still moving with his house... nobody and even the famous trailer parks are imobile and permanent, I heard those where invented to move soldiers around the country with their families... but who needs soldiers anyway. wouldn't it be time to change this tradition and move away from pure consumerism even in buildings? and if it is really cheap which I am not conviced about yet, isn't there something like offer and demand which regulates prices, couldn't a "solid" construction be as cheap as the wood ? and then why couldn't be in europe wood as cheap as concrete?

if we move away from consumerism, there will be a better quality in design. unfortunately, in a capitalistic world and overpopulated world, i believe it is impossible, or unaffordable for such proposal to happen. however, i also do believe that design could solve the problem of mobility, and help develop a more sustainable environment. i think this could only happen at the expense of democracy, when we can unify a design so that everything works out. . unlike our "plot by plot" system that is simply destroying our potential to design a better world. (like waht is happening in major cities. .like shanghai).

but again. . a purely socialist system would restrain free thinking and ideas.. . .

wow i really digressed there. sorry

firstly, Hong Kong is mostly made out of steel and concrete because the place is all high-rise all the time. not exactly a typology you use wood for is it...

In NA wood is cheap(-ish) sure, but mostly just easy to use. and why not wood? you have an anti-wood fetish? it is just a matter of what the industry is accustomed to, as well as the economy of a mobile culture. Concrete costs more (time and $) than it is worth if you plan on moving any time soon. And for most people it doesn't matter what the building is made from anyway, as long as it is safe (easy enough to do even in florida or in tornado country, though it don't always work out that way) and it looks right.

justin, the system you envision is not socialism but fascism. and it doesn't work. look at brasilia if you don't believe me.

Europe has its own cheap ass housing. The only difference is that North American cheap housing has plumbing that works and insulation that keeps it warm year round. European housing in general seems to permanently be cold damp with hardly any plumbing to talk about.

i agree j...i'm a bit confused as to what large projects
are using wood...any project of substantial size that isn't
residential is using metal studs, steel and concrete...

one major difference i have seen though is europe uses a
lot more structural concrete where they pour as they go up...
where the us would use predominantly steel.

Where exactly did you find this cheap ass euro housing, G-bot? Are we talking just about newly built stuff or from the old 60's and 70's housing programs as well?
In my own experience I must say that I've found European cheap housing slightly more robust than North American, although there are a few European countries I haven't taken into account here (Albania for instance) - and I don't think I've had problems when I've been to the bathroom, on either side of the Atlantic, that could be linked to people saving money by installing substandard plumbing.

i assume they are referring to stick built houses in the suburbs and for some reason comparing them to the masonry buildings in europe and large concrete and steel buildings in HK. Not sure why...

didn't know houses in South florida are built from concrete block. is that a new thing? Based on (my vague memories from) TV coverage I had thought many of the houses in the hurricane zone were still 2x4...

Stick Framming is most prevelant because it is the most efficient in terms of energy used, enviromental impact, regenerative resource as well as cost effective and quick, for most projects built in north america. Its pretty freak'n strong too when engineered correctly. Look at all the old framed/ post and beam houses and churches from the 18 and 1700's all over the coasts of America still standing.

Y'all are dancing around the issue...
Stick framing is used because the US uses 30 year mortgages on most buildings that would (could) be built with stick framing and most construction is speculative at heart.

You want to see a real change in architecture in the US? Push for an option of 50, 75 or even 100 year mortgages....

And retailers have a 10 year mortgage leading to the boxes we know and love....

thats because of discounted cash flow methodology.

thanks a lot for all of your viewpoints, - very interesting, just one clarification about the large wood projects: I see them all over the place here, perhaps the main load bearing part of the structures is metal beams and columns, but that,s it, the rest is all wood and if you see those things unfinished it looks like 99% wood, even for sheer walls and that kind of stuff, I saw 4 to 6 story high collective housing projects like that, I am sure you did so too. Where it surprised me most is in moss's projects in culver city, you never see the wood but you always feel it.

I don't have a wood phobia, I love wood, but I am convinced that every building material you use should express it's own specificity and advantages and not just be covered up by for example brick veneer, just do do as if... Concerning the plumbing in european houses, it's definitely an issue in old houses (at least 70's), if I read here that the mortage for NA houses is more or less 30 years then it's sure NA won't have this kind of problem. Now to dig even deeper, where does this mortage of 30 y. comes what are it's historical origins??

We don't 'need' the purity of the material. That's an architect's fantasy. Even FLW faked the 'purity' in his materialality.
I think there has to be a balance. Brick just isn't as useful as it was a hundred years ago, so it's only an aesthetic now.

Wood is fast and cheap and very flexible. You can change things easily in the field without much labor. It works, plain and simple. Most construction methods have their drawbacks, so nothing is perfect. A 6 story all wood framed building? Where?


Where does the 30 yr mortgage come from? I am guessin life expectancy. Most get a house in their 30s, so in 30 years you could probably pay it off before you die. Just a guess.