As the global construction industry grapples with the push to switch out high-carbon construction materials for timber, it could learn much from Japan – a civilisation that has been building timber buildings to withstand earthquakes and other natural disasters for centuries.
“The timber culture comes down to the fact that bricks weren’t introduced here until the 1860s (by the Germans),” said Graham Sayer, director of Japanese Lumber – a native New Zealander with deep relationships with sawmills and merchants across the country. “So it’s not a civilisation built on bricks (or stone) like many European civilisations.”
Home to some of the world’s oldest managed forests, Simon Love – director of Japanese Timber Australia – said the origins of sustainable forest management date back to the 17th century: “It all started with the 1725 reforms…and the only hiccup came at the end of the Second World War – during the post-war rebuild – but the system of forest management goes back 300 years, centuries before PEFC and FSC certification.”
Mr Sayer and Mr Love will join dozens of Australian architects, engineers and developers on Andrew Dunn’s Wooden Architecture Tour – and amongst the highlights include a tour of the world’s oldest wooden building, the Horyuji Temple, which dates back to the seventh century.
“It was built using a system called Sashimono – a construction system that does not use complex joints,” Mr Sayer said. “When you see its height, you just think to yourself, how on earth can they construct something that is that safe and high without using metal fixing or nails?”
“But they did it, and there is a lesson for us today,” he said, adding that the ancient buildings are a direct descendent of the modern post-and-beam systems, “which certainly do have metal fixings, nails and bolts.”
“The tour is a trip of a lifetime, especially if you love timber,” said Mr Love, who spoke to Wood Central earlier this month: “It’ll go from old history and traditional methods right through to the modern-day, finishing up at the amazing (wooden) ring structure in Osaka for the World Expo.”
Pegged by The New York Times as one of its top places to visit this year, the World Expo will see large numbers of exhibitions built out of Japanese timbers. “Starting with the Tokyo Olympics and more recently the World Expo, what we are seeing coming out of Japan is remarkable,” said Mr Dunn, who said the Grand Ring is “one of the highlights of the tour.”
“We will delve into the rich traditions of Minka (Kominka) construction – exploring the intricate building methods that have defined the Japanese architectural identity for decades,” Mr Dunn said. “Visiting forests and fabrication facilities, we will understand traditional construction techniques from root to roof, including expert carpentry demonstrations.”
- For more information about the tour, click here for Wood Central’s special feature from earlier this month. To learn more about how the 17th-century Japanese used timber to create the world’s first dentures, click here.
