"What's old is new."

Massive joinery is about mass timber - but especially about how it can come together without nails or screws. As a student of woodworking and architecture, this research is my attempt to cross-pollinate the fields.

Mass timber is becoming increasingly important for a built future without embodied carbon. Coupled with the rise of CNC technology and its ability to create fast, precise cuts faster than any joiner, precision and possibilities become an afterthought.

The remaining questions are: why aren't we doing it? And, perhaps more importantly, why should we be doing it?

Join me as I tell you all about:

• The origin story of the research question;
• The makeup of timber grain and how these properties are utilised in mass timber products;
• My visits to buildings that have done 'massive joinery' before like Shigeru bans legendary Tamedia, Swatch HQ as well as the viral Studio Precht and Bert treehouses;
• My conversations between the collaborators involved on the projects above;
• Hypothetical joints for adaptation into projects;
• And flowcharts for how and why we should or shouldn't be using joinery in our mass timber architecture.

There will also be:

• A handbook* available for purchase at the venue, with photographs, drawings, details, flowcharts and a record of the conversations had during the fellowship
• An interactive prototype of one of the hypothetical joints.

I hope to see you there!

Wilfred

*See links to Wilfred's Fellowship Handbook and Photographs .