Oak Ridge Hardwoods

On Tuesday, September 24^th, a group of students were taken to Oak Ridge Hardwoods Mill by Adam Taylor, a professor in Forestry here at University of Tennessee.  There we were introduced to Chris Keziah , the 2^nd generation owner of the mill.  He took us around the grounds and explained the process of milling.  That morning we were able to see some freshly cut White Oak pallet cants in stacks.  They were perfectly straight, and a beautiful beige coloring.  We were reminded that they will not stay in that condition for long, soon to start shrinking, warping, and turning color.   Chris explained to us the grading process in which the cants go through and what graders are looking for.  We also learned more about the economy of wood, and found that there is actually a supply and demand for pallet cants.  Many cants that are cut are made into pallets because companies need them.  If the demand happens to be low in some cases, the mill will start cutting railroad ties instead.  This means those involved in the Green Oak Initiative will be competing in these markets trying to show that the heart of the oak can be utilized for much bigger means.  Towards the end of the tour Chris kindly told us we may come back and pick out some White Oak cants to start building and testing, which will start soon. 

Lone Oak Farms

During the weekend of the 30^th of August to the 2^nd of September students currently in the studios of Professors Theodore Shelton and Robert French were treated to southern hospitality of the utmost at Lone Oaks Farms in Hardeman County, Tennessee. Provided with premium accommodations, bountiful southern meals, and all-terrain vehicles, students were encouraged to explore all the site had to offer.

 

The landscape at Lone Oaks is that of a 1,600 acre garden. Laboriously restored to its native species of flora and fauna, the woods on the site have been cleared in very intentional ways, allowing for ideal views of the groomed vistas and swimming ponds, and only allowing for views of the existing buildings at certain points along the paths. Everything built at Lone Oaks was done so with the principle that it be the best possible.

Our greatest responsibility and challenge in programming and designing the buildings on this site is to honor the original guiding principle of Lone Oaks and to build in such a way that does not conflict with what has already been done here.

This can only be achieved with an extreme sensitivity to orientation. Qualities of sunlight, wind, variations in topography and surrounding vegetation must be studied very carefully when choosing the location of buildings. And conditions such as water adjacency, flora placement and height, and topographical changes and manipulations must serve to control when and where buildings are visible, how they relate to the landscape and to each other, as well as how much sunlight and wind the buildings themselves receive.

The site provides us with plenty of opportunities to construct buildings that are subject to their landscape. Our intervention here should only be visible at intended moments and related to one’s movements throughout the site. Buildings should resemble the pastoral grouping of those existing on the site already. When revealed, the clusters of buildings in the landscape will work together to achieve 

a harmonious pattern on the site.

Goals in Mind

As research and designing begins for the students of the Green Oak Initiative, it has been important to establish overall goals and the tasks that will help to reach our goals in mind.  Our first task at hand is structuring a packet of current building techniques and knowledge of using green oak in construction. This information will be important not only for future research, but also to inform students in a studio working on schematic designs of a 4H camp, and a future design-build project in West Tennessee.  If the grant is received for construction, the project will be made to showcase the benefits and possibilities of using green oak in construction.

Students discuss the implications of using several varieties of

 construction methods.

Prof. Ted Shelton and students of the Green Oak seminar
 course discussfuture goals and scheduling of the research.

Currently, students in the research seminar are gaining current knowledge of physical characteristics of green oak and the use of un-dried wood in construction.  Most of the construction information comes from European projects utilizing the material.  It is important in not only converting structural knowledge from European standards to American standards, but to also establish the best form of joinery for the current building industry in America.  As some traditional joinery seems more unrealistic than practical, we found that a possible hybrid of traditional and metal joints would be appropriate.

Other future goals will include some form of testing of the material, building a mock-up of a proposed structural system, and creating a publishable document that can be used along with this blog to inform others and create a wider acceptance of green oak in construction.

            

The Green Oak Initiative

The Green Oak Initiative is a proposal by the University of Tennessee to develop contemporary green (un-dried) oak construction techniques for the US building market.  Because many of the “heart-centers” of hardwood logs have defects that limit their usefulness for traditional dry lumber products, this portion of the log is routinely sold green (un-dried) as “cants” used to manufacture shipping pallets – an extremely low-grade use for such an otherwise highly desirable resource. This initiative will allow currently underutilized heart-centers of logs to be used as an extremely low energy, carbon friendly, beautiful, and high value wood product for structural members in sustainable buildings.  The research found will be applied to a comprehensive “green” demonstration project for a UT extension 4-H camp complex in West Tennessee.  This blog is a part of the initiative by documenting the research and design project which can provide the critical information for adopting the proposed use of green oak in future projects.