Timber Debris

Timber industries have become adept at using the whole log. The waste from large structural members is made into veneer and strand lumber while the sawdust is boiled into pulp and formed into sheets. Wood is standardized and deformations are smoothed out.

The architecture of the American Southwest has long used whole and minimally processed timber. Vigas, latillas, and coyote fences bare the traces of trees, forests, and imperfections. As increasingly severe storms, fires, and unpredictable weather decimate trees, debris is an increasingly pervasive material.

Debris Structures documents a series of works made using timber debris. Fall trees, branches, and timber wreckage are used to create a series of structures guided by their imperfections. In Debris Structures, computational design methods layer on long-standing building traditions to capture the specific properties of each piece. Timber is scanned, modeled, and put to work in irregular compositions. Presented as a series of digitally-generated prints, the structures shape an architecture of timber debris.

Exhibited in “Regenerative Actions”
Roswell Museum
April - October 2024

2024