Continuing exploration into the 20K house project, the Roundwood house examines the viability
of using locally sourced forest thinnings as a building material. The loblolly pine thinnings, often
cut down and left to rot in the forest, were acquired for fifty cents per tree from the Talladega
National Forest. The four team members were responsible for pulling the cut thinnings out of
the forest and debarking them by hand.
Early design decisions led to the creation of a truss, as the logs’ strength lies in tension and
compression. Protecting the roundwood from rot and insects was also a main priority.
Conceptually, the roundwood provides the structure of the house, while a dimensional lumber
shell, or curtain wall, covers and protects the truss.
One of the biggest challenges of the project was to use the logs while they were still green,
meaning that the logs were subject to shrinking and twisting over time. Adjustable jonts made
of threaded rod and circular steel tube provided a solution that allowed the logs to twist as they
dried and also created nodal points from which to hang the exterior curtain wall.
