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Wood construction today On wood and the evolution of the panel Wood Species Housing in the port of Amsterdam Motel in Irún-Behobia House in Carreço Swimming pool in Laracha, A Coruña products dossier

summary Presentation Vitality  • Using wood today Carlos Ferrater  • Wood construction today Jaume Avellaneda  • On wood and the evolution of the panel José M. Bermúdez Graíño  • Wood Species Graciela Roselló  • Housing in the port of Amsterdam Josep Lluís Mateo – MAP Arquitectes Josep Lluís Mateo & Jaume Avellaneda  • Motel in Irún-Behobia Roberto Ercilla and Miguel Ángel Campo Roberto Ercilla  • House in Carreço João Álvaro Rocha Carlos Quintáns  • Swimming pool in Laracha, A Coruña Carlos Quintáns, Antonio Raya and Cristóbal Crespo Miguel Ángel Baldellou  • Products dossier Irene Briones & Cristina Dorado

wood (I) cladding

Jaume Avellaneda Wood construction today From the first constructions using logs, to the light balloon frame structures, wood construction and its use in façades, roofs and claddings has passed through various stages. To the traditional boards and shingles, with increasingly more advanced techniques for their protection, have been added panel-type claddings, in which the wood has undergone a gradual process of disintegration. The fruit of increasingly industrialized technology, solid wood has gradually given way to multi-layered and mixed products capable of meeting the most demanding requirements.

Sports housing in Davos (1997) by Gigon and Guyer. The façade is conceived of as two superimposed layers of siding –one painted bright colors, the other in untreated wood–. Photo: Heinrich Helfenstein

José M. Bermúdez Graíño On wood and the evolution of the panel A construction material which has been used since time immemorial, wood can function both as structure and cladding. The demand for wood in construction is increasing daily, due in part to it's being the only truly renewable natural resource, when cultivated in artificial forests. Advances in technology continually produce new solutions to improve the material's weak points, however, to insure the best performance, the most important step is the selection of an adequate wood species for the specific application and properly detailed construction which takes into account the special characteristics of the wood.

Graciela Roselló Wood Species (51 wood species analyzed) In this monograph we considered that it was fundamental to include a selection of specifications of different woods used in the construction industry. These specifications contain information about the wood's appearance, different nomenclature, physical properties –density, contraction and hardness–, workability, durability, impregnability and finally its application. All of this information is tremendously useful in choosing an appropriate wood. To enable the reader to establish the category of a particular wood in relation to other woods, depending on their characteristics, we have included an annex with a glossary of terms and a series of comparative charts. The main bibliographic source used was the book Especies de maderas (Wood species), the work of various authors, published by AITIM (Association of Technical Investigation of the Wood and Cork Industries) in 1997. Although included in this selection there are tropical woods which are available in the market, it should be kept in mind that they are becoming increasingly expensive and rare. We have avoided the inclusion of some well known species like teak, ebony and mahogany, as they are already endangered species. In order to protect forestry resources worldwide (hardwood tropical species as well as hardwood species in temperate zones and conifers), we recommend to use woods which come from cultivated forests or forestry operations which are independently certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or the PEFC (Pan European Forest Certification) which will shortly begin operation. It is important to avoid ordering very large pieces or pieces from old growth trees and to use recycled wood when possible.

In order to protect forestry resources worldwide (hardwood tropical species as well as hardwood species in temperate zones and conifers), we recommend to use woods which come from cultivated forests or forestry operations which are independently certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or the PEFC (Pan European Forest Certification) which will shortly begin operation. It is important to avoid ordering very large pieces or pieces from old growth trees and to use recycled wood when possible.

Josep Lluís Mateo y Jaume Avellaneda Housing in the port of Amsterdam Josep Lluís Mateo – MAP Arquitectes In an area where port activities coexist with ever expanding residential complexes, Josep Lluís Mateo faces Dutch pragmatism to create an emotive architecture that nevertheless remains modern and contextual. This housing development, an assemblage of volumes that either rise or sink, opens out to the sea and reflects the movement of the surrounding water. The analogy with the sailing world becomes patent in the use of wood, and in the play between its different textures that characterizes the small inner courtyards and the façades.

The red cedar planks are half lapped -each board is notched to half its depth- for better watertightness. Those which are used in the wood screens have a deeper section to better resist wind loads. They receive, along with the wood which is used for the structure –also red cedar– an autoclave treatment as their only protection. Photo: Duccio Malagamba

Roberto Ercilla Motel in Irún-Behobia Roberto Ercilla & Miguel Ángel Campo In the midst of an aggressive environment, Ercilla and Campo have managed to create a cosy and elegant interior, one surprisingly removed from the surrounding chaos as well as from the clichés normally asociated with roadway hotels. This is thanks to their splendid design of room units and communal spaces alike, and to a generalized use of wood for wall panels, door frames and other interior carpentry work, furniture and fixtures. The exterior also gives the building –which is to form part of a hotel chain– a recognizable character, independent of the place, thanks to panels of cellulose-cement and a vertical framework of pillars of laminated wood.

Both the entrance to the hotel and the access to the parking garage are situated behind, obliging one to go around the building. Above, a view of the north façade. Photo: César San Millán

Carlos Quintáns Eirás House in Carreço João Álvaro Rocha The special rapport that Portuguese architects have with wood is manifested in the exquisite design of the interior and exterior woodwork of this one-family house in Carreço. Trapped in a virtual parallelepiped of concrete, a series of functional boxes articulates the interior space, and these shift backward slightly to create a terrace looking out to the sea. The dwelling presents a long wooden façade which is constantly changing, giving rise to a combination of openings and blind surfaces.

All of the exterior framing is made of doussie wood, either solid or plywood, impregnated with a solution which crystallizes in the interior of the wood, preventing the absorption of water but allowing the wood to breathe. Photo: Luis Ferreira Alves

Miguel Ángel Baldellou Swimming pool in Laracha, A Coruña Carlos Quintáns, Antonio Raya & Cristóbal Crespo The fruit of a competition organized by the provincial government of A Coruña to endow small municipalities with sport facilities, this project proposes a model to be repeated, and as such, it is inherently adaptable to different places. An assertive concrete plinth delimits a series of volumes arranged around courtyards, and on it poses a large wooden box. The wood leaves its mark on the concrete while enclosing the interior space of the pool area. Hollows and solids are adjusted to fit within a rigorous, precise geometric limit materialized in concrete, following an inevitable order that results from constructive logic. Photo: Leopoldo Alonso Lamberti

products dossier  (70 index cards)	standard card		Walls and ceilings / plywood: Wisa® Façade for exterior and Fireproof Malvo-Board, by Schaumann Wood Oy. (donwload: 88 K)
It has been particularly complicated to determine which criteria to follow in the classification of the products related to the theme of this monograph, wood claddings, given the quantity of wood-derived and transformed wood products and the almost infinite possible combinations, together with the specialized commercial terminology. We have finally decided to establish big groups according to their function and to add three complementary sections:
Floorings   -solid wood   -multi-layer   -plywood   -laminates   -baseboards and mouldings   -cork   -linoleum   -bamboo Walls and ceilings   -solid wood   -glued wood strip panels   -plywood	-shavings, particles and fibers   -insulation   -acoustic hung ceilings   -specialty sheet material   -roofing panels   -curved products Interior partitions Fasteners Adhesives Treatments