Knut Einar Larsen and Nils Marstein provide a comprehensive preservation strategy that may be applied in practice, taking into account different cultures and traditions. It is a timely response to the needs of the international community for guidelines for the conservation of historic timber structures, and for others wishing to develop their knowledge of the preservation of our wooden cultural heritage. The book will also help those interested in modern building practices that are compatible with sustainable development.

Volume is indexed by Thomson Reuters BCI (WoS).Wood, which always looks quite solid to the naked eye, actually possesses a very intricate and exquisite structure; developed by Nature primarily to fulfil the requirements of a growing tree. How well the structure satisfies the needs of a construction material as used by humans is quite another matter - so to speak. Besides being an important constructional material, wood is today also an important source of precursors for the medical and chemical compounds used by human beings. These, and many other aspects of wood, are topics which materials science attempts to elucidate. When wood is used as a constructional material, human interest normally focuses on xylem, the "woody" inner portion of the trunk of a tree. The outer sections of the tree, the bark and cambium, mainly interest humans for reasons other than constructional.As wood is an organic polymer-matrix composite, the study of wood might be assumed to be the province mainly of polymer scientists. This is not true however: materials scientists working on polymers are almost absent from research into wood. The situation is actually quite odd; since wood offers plenty of ideas which would also be applicable to synthetic polymers and their composites. This situation is reflected by the contents of this publication.

The Asuka period and wood -- The appeal of trees -- Rich in wood, poor in trees -- Wood is alive -- Hinoki and the Japanese people -- The transportation of wood in ancient times -- Thoughts on Hinoki.

Tree-ring dating (dendrochronology) is a method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree-ring growth patterns. As author James Speer notes, trees are remarkable bioindicators. Although there are other scientific means of dating climatic and environmental events, dendrochronology provides the most reliable of all paleorecords. Dendrochronology can be applied to very old trees to provide long-term records of past temperature, rainfall, fire, insect outbreaks, landslides, hurricanes, and ice storms--to name only a few events. This comprehensive text addresses all of the subjects that a reader who is new to the field will need to know and will be a welcome reference for practitioners at all levels. It includes a history of the discipline, biological and ecological background, principles of the field, basic scientific information on the structure and growth of trees, the complete range of dendrochronology methods, and a full description of each of the relevant subdisciplines. Individual chapters address the composition of wood, methods of field and laboratory study, dendroarchaeology, dendroclimatology, dendroecology, dendrogeomorphology, and dendrochemistry. The book also provides thorough introductions to common computer programs and methods of statistical analysis. In the final chapter, the author describes "frontiers in dendrochronology," with an eye toward future directions in the field. He concludes with several useful appendixes, including a listing of tree and shrub species that have been used successfully by dendrochronologists. Throughout, photographs and illustrations visually represent the state of knowledge in the field.

At present the study of functional and ecological wood anatomy enjoys a vigorous renaissance and plays a pivotal role in plant and ecosystem biology, plant evolution, and global change research. This book contains a selection of papers presented at the successful meetings of the International Association of Wood Anatomists and the Cost-Action STReESS (Studying Tree Responses to extreme Events: a Synthesis) held in Naples in April 2013. Reprinted from IAWA Journal, Volume 34 (2013, Issue 4.

Built like a piece of fine furniture, the traditional Japanese house is universally admired for its clean lines, intricate joinery, and unparalleled woodworking. Focusing primarily on a new guesthouse in California, this elegant volume shows how a classic Japanese house can be built to offer the warmth and comfort that modern homemakers require.Len Brackett, rigorously trained as a temple carpenter in Kyoto, has spent decades adapting the ancient Japanese design aesthetic to Western needs. Here he demonstrates step-by-step how both the traditional live-on-the-floor house, as well as models that accommodate furniture, can be constructed to provide such modern essentials as central heating, insulation, computerized lighting systems, and the latest electronics. This practical and inspiring guide--with gorgeous, clear photos and diagrams--is an indispensable resource for those who'd like to live in a Japanese home, for professionals who want to build them, and for any reader who delights in Japan's age-old aesthetic traditions.

The Genius of Japanese Carpentry is the story of the twelve-hundred-year-old Yakushiji monastery and the dedicated modern-day craftsmen who are working to restore what has been lost to the depredations of time, fire, and warfare. In the eighth century, anonymous carpenters first erected the intricately-designed timber temples and pagodas that compose the Yakushiji Buddhist monastery. Then as today, these buildings were considered marvels of architectural elegance and traditional Japanese craftsmanship. Although the full restoration will not be complete until 2030, one of the main temples, the Picture Hall, has been completely reconstructed, employing the original methods, architectural style, and largely the same woodworking technology as its predecessors. Azby Brown chronicles the Picture Hall's painstaking restoration through photographs, extensive interviews with the carpenters and woodworkers, and original drawings based on the plans of Japanese master carpenter Tsunekazu Nishioka. An inspiring testament to the craftsmen, their dedication to excellence, and their philosophy of work as personal fulfillment, The Genius of Japanese Carpentry offers detailed documentation of this singular project and a moving reminder of the humanity that bridges past and present.

A rare view of master carpenters at work on the reconstruction of an eighth-century temple captures the technical side of traditional Japanese techniques as well as the spirit of the craft.

"The author, the first Westerner to be initiated into a traditional carpentry guild, begins by illuminating the significance of the "way" of the art and craft of carpentry in Japan, revealing the religious rituals that surround the carpenter's tools and the building process as well as the secret traditions and the trade's transmission from master to disciple over the centuries. He discusses the organization of the carpenters' guilds, the apprenticeship system, and the divisions of labor and specialization within the profession. He reviews the m,aterials of Japanese carpentry, the woods the masters worked with, and outlines the primary methods of design and construction - for the traditional master carpenter did both. ..."--Book flap.

This lively introduction to Japanese joinery not only delves lovingly into the unique history and development of Japanese carpentry, but also reveals many secrets of Japanese joinery. Presenting 48 joints, selected from among the several hundred known and used today, this visually exciting book will please anyone who has ever been moved by the sheer beauty of wood. With the clear isometric projections complementing the 64 pages of stunning photographs, even the weekend carpenter can duplicate these bequests from the traditional Japanese carpenter, which can be applied to projects as large as the buildings for which most of them were originally devised or to projects as small as a sewing box.

"From Japan's first forays onto the international stage of world's fairs in the late nineteenth century to the dynamic creativity of the 1920s and 1930s, and from the heady post-World War II period to the present day, Japanese craft art has exhibited a rich diversity of media and techniques. One of the first illustrated surveys in English of modern-era Japanese crafts - including ceramics, lacquerware, metalcraft, and wood - this elegant book is an invaluable guide for the collector and scholar."

In this book the author writes about the more than 4 years he spent visiting hundreds of Japanese homes and learning as much as possible about their construction, design, furnishings, and relative merits. It is the only authentic record of the traditional home -- mats, lamps, screens, gardens -- from its general plan to the smallest decorative detail. 307 illustrations.

The approach of "Informing Architecture by Materiality" opens the way to an innovative use of materials in the design professions. Taking material qualities and properties such as texture, elasticity, transparency and fluidity as a point of departure, the concept described and employed here transcends the conventional definitions of building materials. Instead, the focus is on a multitude of material operations, like folding and bending, carving and cutting, weaving and knitting, mirroring and screening. The featured design strategies and methods address established and "new" materials alike. They are applied both to the scale of the detail and the entire building. The examples comprise prototype structures as well as large building projects. Eight chapters deal with surfaces and layers, joints and juctions, weaving and texturing, nanoscale transformations, responsiveness, the integration of ephemeral factors like wind and light as well as material collections providing professional resources. Written by renowned experts in this field, the book features many examples from international contemporary architecture. The introductory part provides the conceptual background, while a final chapter describes consequences for pressing issues of today, like sustainability or life cycle assessment.