The key to this one: these trees are usually ‘thinned’ because they are no good to mill, and yet if we design homes using the whole tree, they’re good enough. It means a new resource.
According to the Forest Products Laboratory, a whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree. Putting this principle into practice, Whole Tree Architecture is dedicated to building with materials that lumber companies consider scrap – weed trees, also know as ‘managed forest thinnings.’ The resulting projects are beautiful displays of locally sourced and sustainably managed materials.
The slideshow here starts with an element of the earthship about it as well, in the window positioning etc. Excellent, and very ‘hobbity’.