An Exploration of the Relationships between Houses and Forests in American History Author(s): William Gould Sturges Source: Journal

of Architectural Education (1984-), Vol. 46, No. 2 (Nov., 1992), pp. 66-75 Published by: Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1425200 . Accessed: 24/12/2010 00:51
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An Exploration of theRelationships between Houses in American andForests History

WILLIAM GOULDSTURGES, University of Oregon

The consistent utilizationof wood productsfor humanhabitathas significantlyaffected both the architectureand the forests of NorthAmerica. By examiningthe dynamics associated with increasing humanpopulation,technological and architectural innovations,and the conversion of wildforests to managed woodlands,we can identifysignificant implicationsfor the future of residentialarchitecture on this continentand specifically withinthe UnitedStates. The indigenoushumandesigners and buildersperceived of the forests as an integral extension of their own habitat,but European settlers and their descendants have viewed these as a source of wood fiber for ecosystems primarily consumption.Althoughinnovationshave increased the efficiency by whichthis fiber is utilized, expanding populationand consumptionhave dramaticallyaffected the qualityof the trees and naturalsystems that providethis resource. For our cultureto demonstrate a broader appreciationfor the range of values inherentwithinthe forests, withregard to the importanceof particularly healthy ecosystems, it is necessary to understand the traditionsthat continue to determine how we interactwiththe forests. By exploringthe changing relationshipsbetween the forests and human development, specifically housing, we can better understandthe responsibilitiesrequiredof a sustainable humanculture.

THE SUPPLY AND DEBETWEEN THE IMBALANCES

or subjectedto fire in the past severalhunmand for wood, especiallyfor use in home dred years,extends far beyond one or two construction, are becoming increasingly species. These forests can provide a vast acute. If generaltrendsareallowedto con- wealthof specieshabitat,watershed protecto tinue, an expandingpopulation'sneedsfor tion, andbiological genebanksin addition natural whichinclude shelterand economicdevelop- commodityresources, both physical will likelycontinueto re- medicinesthatareonly now beingrediscovmentopportunities amountsof wood fiber.In ered;the taxolfromthe barkof the yew tree quireevengreater of these The importance of new housing is justone example. the construction particular, theirroleasa alsoincludes forhumans has long consumed the greatest single forests reandspiritual amount of forest products in the United placefor recreational activity newal.The full valueof theseforestsis only States.1 the useof beginningto be understoodby our society. Withinthe pastfewdecades, arenow beingrecognized wood fiber has grown rapidly.2In 1986 Indeed,the forests alone,domesticlumberconsumptionfor all by many as having intrinsic value in their useswas 57.2 billionboardfeet (bbf). [One own right, independent of any perceived boardfoot (bf) equalsthe volumeof a piece benefitforhumans. From the dawn of history, humans of wood sized1"by 1"by 12",or 2.54 cm by There 2.54 cm by 30.48 cm.] This figureis almost havebenefitedfromforestresources. has forest the in which basic three are than the 40 percent ways consumpaverage higher tion in the 1950s and 1960s and 10 percent providedfor indigenoushumans:fuel, shelmore than the previous high reached in ter, and a habitatfor food. Althoughstone 1978. United Statestimberconsumptionis and earthwerealsousedin NorthAmerican wood polesand tree architecture, expectedto riseto as much as 70 bbf by the indigenous and sheathflexible a bark of with 55 framing provided approximately percent year2040, into almostall NaThese vol- ing systemincorporated this total used in construction.3 construction. areincreasingly tiveAmerican umesof timberconsumption America'sindigenoushuthe in 1989, in excessof the available Generally, supply; densities cultures man States United the within harvested timber developedin greater forested more the within the with of the need, regions.6 heavily only72 percent equaled It is clearthat Dependingon the specificbioregion,these balance beingmet by imports.4 useda varietyof wooden the demandfor forestproductsincreasingly nativecivilizations One tribalgroupthat the exceeds supply. buildingtechnologies. itself with its identified has enviand same At the time, biologists particularly tribes that five the are eviare ronmentalists presenting Iroquois, dwellings mounting and origiconfederation unified a became of dence of the importance maintaining York New became what inhabited be can which nally only ecological diversity, as to themselves refer The State. the current forests in achieved Iroquois by limiting of means which For "Hodenosaunee," extraction.5 timber of methods "People and rates Lewis example,the controversysurroundingthe the Long-House."7 According to the renowned Northern the of anthropologist Spot- HenryMorgan, endangered protection on log- who studied Native Americansin detail in ted Owl and the relatedrestrictions the Iroquoisdid ging old-growth forests have received the earlyand mid-1800s, attention.However,the poten- not just comparetheir confederationto a considerable 240 it wasa longhouse, of forests, stretching tialecological diversity particularly longhouse, the olderwoodlandsthat havenot been cut miles, in which the five tribes gathered
66

1992 JAE46/2 November

1989

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----I i 4L I\H^ IB--'-1*

'^a^l~~~r-1850

,1.r C itt^ 1

---

1776
1. Populationdensity maps: 1776, 1876, 1976. Source: Massachusetts Instituteof Technology, in National Geographic (July 1976).

1620
2. Primevalforests: 1620,1850, 1989. Source: Universityof Oregon SurvivalCenter (Eugene, OR:1990).

B7

Sturges

forTreeof Life. 3. Caddoan symbol Rim NE: TheWorld's Source: Burr Alexander, (Lincoln, Hartley of Nebraska Press, 1953). University

each In Iroquoistradition, aroundfive fires.8 the the basic sheltered social unit, longhouse matrilineal clan, and expanded along its
length to accommodate new couples.9

INDIVIDUAL APARTMENTS

SHED\

By reviewingthe architectural design of these longhouses, we can better understand the comprehensive interrelationships between the Iroquois,their dwellings, and the forestsof which they have been a part. Lafitau,a Jesuitmissionary Joseph-Francois who studiedthe Iroquoisin the early1700s, werefrom20 to wrotethat theirlonghouses 30 feet wide and 40 to 400 feet long.10 Longhouseframingfrom this period consistedof verticaland horizontal poles lashed withes." traditionwith Longhouses together ally were roofedby barrelvaultsformedby slender vertical poles bent at the top and at the center.12 The wallsand lashedtogether roofs were coveredwith largestripsof elm with greenbasswood.13 barktiedto the frame The interiorof the housewas dividedat intervalsof six or eight feet, forming apartments used by individual family groups.

I I .

I9

I I

lw

&FIREPITS PASSAGE COMMON

I I I uI rL

80 FEETLONG
4. Iroquois c. 1724. Framing andsheathing andplanandsection(below). (above) longhouse, York: andRobert American Architecture Oxford Sources: PeterNabakov Native (New Easton, H.Morgan, HousesandHouseLifeof theAmerican Press, 1989), pp.82-83; Lewis University of Chicago Press, 1965), p. 131. University Aborigines (Chicago:

were open to the center These apartments aisle,which passedthroughthe house from end to end. Betweeneveryfour apartments, two on a side, was a firepitin the centerof the hall that was used in common by their occupants.14 The floors were raiseda foot above the passageby hand-hewedlogs that were fitted with joists and covered with bark.'5 Depending on the size of the
1992 JAE46/2 November 68

longhouse, there may have been ten to twentyindividual apartments housingtwenty to sixtyor moreoccupants. In general,the settlementpatternsof the NativeAmericans effects limitednegative on the forests.For example,the amountof wood used within the densely occupied low,'6 Iroquoislonghouseswas reasonably and the tribalgroupsrelocatedtheir settle-

mentswith enoughfrequency thatthe forests of theirresources.17 wouldnot be exhausted This is not to suggest,however,that the Indiansof NorthAmerica had no impact on the forests.For example,they used controlledburningfor a varietyof regenerative and clearingpurposes.This practice, over several hundredyears,significantly changed the forests' composition, enlarging the Midwest'sprairiegrasslands and increasing the proportion of pine treesto hardwoods in the Southeast."8 Michael However, Williams, authorof Americans and Their writes Forests, of theseaspects of the Indian's forestmanagement practicesthat, "giventhe population useof environmental density,it wasa delicate resourcesbased on sustainableyields and minimized laborinputs.""19 did Obviously,the Native Americans not havethe demographic need to houseexpandingpopulationsnor the technologyto cut high volumesof timber.Whetherthese aspectsof indigenousculture,which differ fundamentallyfrom contemporaryNorth
American society, are causes or effects of the Indian's sustainable land-use ethic is irrelevant. What is important about this civilization's land ethic is the precedent it demonstrates regarding the potentially timeless integration between a human culture and nature. When Europeans started settling in North America, they too benefited from the forest as a resource.Although the newcomers largelyperceivedof the thick woodlands as an encumbrance to settlement, they also exploited them as a seemingly endless wealth of resources. As these pioneers hacked out an existence, they cleared land and raised crops. Out of the felled trees they built log cabins of solid log walls and half-log roofs. This straightforward building type was relatively simple and could be erected in as little as two or three days with the help of neighbors. These cabins were usually perceived of as cheap and temporary shelter until more ac69

.---1>.-

_~

5. Logcabin. Source: Michael Americans andTheir Forests(Cambridge: Williams, Press, Cambridge University 1989), p. 73.

t--&

---

6. Timber framing. Source: JamesMarston American theHistorical It ForcesThat Fitch, Building: Shaped (Boston: Mifflin, 1947), p. 11. Houghton Sturges

cepted materials,such as stone and hewn couldbe acquired.20 lumber, When the first sawmill was built in Mainein the early1620s, housesweremore easilybuiltby the timberframeconstruction methods importedfrom northernEurope. The timberframesystemwas moreefficient thanthe simplelog cabin,and the difference betweenthe amountof wood usedin eachis quite significant. Although the log cabins were essentiallyan envelope of thick, solid wood, the timber frames created a much skeleton of wood, thereby lighter usingabout one-half to two-thirds as much wood per
housing unit.21 As sawmills improved and

communitiesgrew, more and more houses were framed with sawed timbers and sheathed with clapboard siding. so did the logAs settlement advanced, wascut at increasing rates for ging.The forest andthe proclearing, log exports, agricultural duction of navalstores, as well as for conAs thesewoodlands struction materials. were not purposefullyreforested,the timberextractionmethodsof this eraweremoresimilarto mining than harvesting. Loggersused mules, oxen, and waterpower to transport the logs once they had been felled and trimmed. By the early1800s, therewas enough forestbeingcut thatAmericans beganto express concerns supporting environmental conservation. In 1818, President James in the rural Madisonsaidthatof all the errors economy of the United States, "none is so much to be regretted, becausenone perhaps is so difficultto repair,as the injuriousand
excessive destruction of timber."22 However,

more and more woodlandwas still bought who then sold and cut by timbercompanies, for farming.Cuttinginthe land as clearing creased that despitethe growingrecognition forestclearinghad a potentiallydetrimental method.27 Becauseof the increased effecton the widerenvironmentby causing buildingacsoil erosion, rapid runoff, and watershed tivityencouraged by balloonframing,other destruction.23 industrialinnovations,and population exNovember 1992 JAE 46/2 70

of issuesrelating As the understanding to the forest became more sophisticated, in the mid-1800shada technical innovations profoundeffect on the supplyand demand for lumber.The developmentof the steam engine increasedindustrialcapabilitiestremendously,allowinglumberproductionto jump. Water-poweredsawmills had been a maximum of 8,000 bf of lumber producing per day, but the daily productionof steamsawmills wasmorethan40,000 bf.24 powered A steadystreamof immigrants created unprecedented demands on the forest as America's populationswelledfrom 7.2 million in 1810 to nearly12.8 million in 1830 and up to 31 million by 1860.25 Of the were 54,000 housesbuiltin 1839, 84 percent constructedof wood.26 The steam-powered sawmillwas one inventionthat madeit possible to build so many wooden houses;the otherwasthe cheap,mass-produced nail.Together,these innovationshelped createthe balloonframe house,alsocalledthe early light frame,which was a radicalchangein wood construction the timPreviously, technology. and berframedwellings had beenassembled mortise-andconnectedwith labor-intensive tenon joints and wooden pegs, which remembers that quiredrelatively largeframing were often hand hewn. With the new nails the entire andstandardized lumber, however, house'swood framewassignificantly lighter, and site laborwas greatlyreduced.The new balloonframingsubstituted smallertimbers timberslospacedcloselytogetherfor larger catedfurther andwasslightly moremaapart terial efficient. The balloon system'sgreat to an expanding societywasthatit advantage it access to housingbecause allowedincreased the needfor highlyskilledand timereduced labor.By 1840, the typicalhouse consuming was built completelyby the balloon frame

RAFTER PLATE STUDS

JOISTS1X4BRACE LET INTO STUDS

FIRESTOP. DIAGONAL SHEATHING FOUNDATION

7. Balloon framing. Source: RaymondR. Jones, Sr., and John E. Bell, Framing, Sheathing, and Insulation(New York:Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1973), p. 13.

8. Logger with chain saw. Source: Ray Raphael, Tree Talk,(Covelo, CA:IslandPress, 1981), p. 69.

pansion, the forests were cut at an even A conservative of the torate. estimate greater tal amountof forestclearedbefore1850, after more than two centuriesof pioneering, suggests that 100 million acres had been
cut.28In the following decade, approximately

wallarea;log cabinto modern Table. 1 Wooduse per lineal foot of eight-foot-high westernlight frame construction. Type Housing Cabin Log Timber Frame Balloon Frame Western Frame Light Cubic Inch 9216 6210 4234 1368 Material Savings 0% 33% 46% .85%

39.7 millionacreswerecleared,almostonethird of the amount from the previoustwo

hundred years.29 The US timber industries were origiin the Northeast and around the based nally Great Lakes, but as these woodlands became depleted, the timber industrialists began investing in the pine forests of the Southeast and later in the forests of the West Coast. By 1920, there was heavy cutting in California, Oregon, and Washington, and only 50 percent of the original, primeval forests of the United States remained.30 As timber supplies were diminishing, were finally taken to support the consteps tinued availability of forest resources for housing and other needs. In 1886, the Division of Forestrywas created as part of the US Department of Agriculture. In 1905, it was strengthened and modified to become the US Forest Service, which took control of the newly developed National Forest System.31 Gifford Pinchot, the United States'sfirst professionally trained forester (he studied forestry in Germany), helped significantly expand the country's public forests using the Forest ReserveAct of 1897.32With the support of President Theodore Roosevelt, Congress, and a concerned US public, the National Forests were enlarged, and policies of reforestationwere enacted. These policies were implemented on public forest land as well as timber industry land; previously, private timberlands had rarely been replanted. The motives behind these policies were primarily to ensure an adequate supply of the nation's wood materialresources,particularly for housing production.33 Private organizations were also formed that supported protection of the forest, including the Sierra Club

TheConflict betweenDwelling inBasicCulSource:Jerry andtheAmerican Forest.A Revolution Finrow, tural Values 1992). (unpublished,

9. Logging crewwithancient contained fir,c. 1970. Thesinglelog on thistruck Douglas to the U.S.Forest feet of timber. the averagesingle13,000 board Service, approximately According houseinthe USuses thismuchlumber. basedon datafor 1986; does notinclude family (Quantity Source: Postcard panelproducts). bythe Ellis Company.

in 1892.34By the 1920s, public and private forest advocacy organizationswere able to establish wilderness areas within the National Forest System, which permanently removed forest lands from timber production areas.35 Although these wilderness areas were insignificant in size compared to the amount of public forests that were available for cutting, they were quite important in principle. At this point in the history of the United States, our land-use policy first demonstrated an appreciation for the forest as having value beyond timber production. However, this value was still associated with human benefit be71 Sturges

causeit was related to providing recreational andscenicopportunities. The development of wood veneer panel technologies,such as plywood in the early 1900s, greatly increased the lateral of wood accuracy strengthand dimensional and transform balloon framframing helped
ing into what is called westernlightframing.36

solidwood planks withplywood By replacing and gypsumboard,westernlightframing rein alizeda verysignificant the amount savings of wood used in each new home. Basedon detailedmaterialestimates,it is possibleto the volumeof wood usedin a comcalculate

parativesection of wall construction for four timber companiescut out their own landwereincreastypes of American houses (Table 1).37 holdings,the NationalForests The stock market crash of 1929 cut to the US market with ingly provide inaffected the lumber and lumber. In the Northwest the strongly housing during 1930s, wascut on private land dustries, and new home construction was in- twiceas muchtimber As of the as on the timcountry's recovery early1960s,private terrupted. part public;by Civilian Conservation the was ber for less than half of accounted the cut.40 plan, Corps formed. Much of its work included replant- This transition wasallowedto occurbecause of US and regional forestmaning and providing fire protection for US Na- the planners tional Forests.38 agement strategy continued to value the World War II resulted in expanded public's forests almostexclusively as a supply cutting of the forests because of the increased of timber and made them availableto the demands for raw materials and agricultural loggingcompanies to continueproviding the lumbermillswith the larger, clearing. By this time, gasoline fuel had al- country's highmost completely replaced steam power, and quality, old-growth logs. the effects of this technological development The most common US house type on the forest have been tremendous; logging since World War II has undoubtedlybeen ranch-style operations have become much more mobile, the single-family, dwellingin the encouraging further increases in production. suburbs.Although this type of house has Gasoline fuels the bulldozers that grade log- usedwestern which lightframeconstruction, in the skidders that the has been the most efficient wooden roads, pull ging logs, building the chain saws that fell the trees, and the system,the low-densitysettlementpatterns trucks that carrythe timber out of the woods havebeen highlyinefficient. As is discussed homes require to the mills or railroad.The chain saws have later,detached,single-family effect more lumber than had the most dramatic multifamily single housingunits probably The enoron the forests, enabling a 2500-year-old se- that also use lightwood framing. in a matter of minutes. mous demand on the forests created to be by the dropped quoia has therefore not been as The ability to log areasthat were previ- suburban explosion the much a function of the houses' construction has hastened inaccessible seriously ously depletion of old-growth forests in the Pacific technologyas it has been their low-density Northwest. This has been especially true in andwasteful patterns. development As the suburbsdeveloped,so did tree the steep, rugged terrainof the western slopes of the Cascade Mountains in Washington, farms,which have been an unprecedented California. method for producing wood fiber. These and northern Oregon, As housing production skyrocketedaf- farms have grown genetically engineered, treesthat havebeen ter World War II, the perceived need for even-aged, even-specied to speed with fertilizers andherbicides lumber was greaterthan ever; the single-fam- treated of This the took root as an ideal its house (and yard) manipulation process. maturing ily of the American Dream. Home construction America'sforests in the latter half of this had reached approximately 800,000 units in century has approachedthe antithesis of in its attempt to maximize 1940 before dropping during World War II, natural ecosystems wood fiber production. For example, the but the post-war boom reached 2 million a prounits in 1950. It peaked at 3 million units in followingquote from 1961 describes 1973.39The impact of this housing boom on cess almostcompletelyalien to the ways in America's woodlands, particularlyits prime- which forestshave traditionally developed. val forests, has been severe. As the private "Trees themselves can be improved . . .
1992 JAE46/2 November 72

the artificial throughhybridization, development of new species. . . created by artificial Once a superior hybridis develpollination. it can become a for the producfactory oped tion of 'super' seed which is collected mechanically, chemicallytreated,and sown by helicopter."41 Contemporaryforestrypracticesdo not quite represent the extremescenario describedabove.Seedlingsareusuallyplanted if ever,sownby by hand,andseedsarerarely, the young sprout'srootsneed to helicopter; be carefully placedin the soil for the plantto In fact,some contemporary survive. foresters have developeda holistic understanding of the complexecosystems and biodiversity that supportthe forestsand their trees.Sustainableforestfarming, as opposedto treefarman ing, presents opportunityto restorethe to the nation's woodlands diversity biological and therebyto preserve and regenerate the and resources that these ecopotential energy of sustainable systemscontain.Components forestfarming includefiveparameters:42 * Timberremoval fromanygivenareais limitedto the amountthatcanbe rein perpetuity, withmovedannually, out causing a declinein the quantity or quality of the trees. * The treesaremanaged to provide a of ages. variety * Treesareallowed to mature fullybeforebeingcut. * The habitat of plants of all the species in the forestareais mainandanimals tained. * Extreme cautionis takento protect the soil. Generally,sustainableforestrytechas muchwood fiberas niquesdo not produce do "timber-intensive" strategies. management By limiting timberextractionand focusing on regenerating damagedplant and animal areinstead communities, healthyecosystems produced.

Although thereare differenttheories what mataboutoptimalforestry strategies, ters, of course, is which strategyis actually implemented. Fueling high demands for wood products,the management plans applied to our country's timberlands have beenbasedon shorttermgoals-spelargely cifically, high-volume timber production. Perhaps the most alarming example of this has been occurring in the Cascadia bioregionof the PacificNorthwest.Regardand forests, watersheds, ing thesemountains, habitats,the ForestServicenotes that "The majorcauseof the decline (of the softwood growingstock)in the PacificCoastregionis the harvest of the remaining old-growth timber on forest industry lands. The oldgrowth inventoryin this ownershipclassis
The country's public forbeing liquidated."43

ests havebeen similarly affected. Within the total National Forest acreage,95 percent of the timberlandhas been logged at least once, 4 percent is currently in dispute, and only 1 percentof thiscountry's primeval forestshas been removedfrom timberproduction.44 This paperhas reviewedhousingand forestssince the erawhen thesetwo subjects coexistedas a model of sustainability until the presenttime, in which the continuedexistence of the forestecosystemsis seriously threatened. What does this tell us aboutour Whatarethe implications houses? for present human habitat?I believe it is clearthat we need to create housing that demands less wood fromourforests if we hopeto maintain andrestore theseecosystems. Currently,the shortageof timber in our countryhasbeensomewhat alleviated by imports from other countries,particularly Canada,which now suppliesalmost29 percent of US softwood consumption.45 This is not going to help solvethe importstrategy timbersupply/demand problemand in fact exacerbatesit. Since 1950, the increasing of importedlumberhas slowed availability

the rateof priceincreases andhassupported a can potentially providea limitedamountof wood resources and still be maintainedacincrease in US lumber 50 percent use.46 Anotherproposed for to decreasthe five strategy cording principlesof sustainable wood is forest the substidescribed earlier. To achieve consumption through farming ing tutionof alternative materials or processes for healthy forests while continuing to use new wood construction. One way this strat- wooden building technologieswill require could work is by reusingexistingbuild- that we seriouslyincreasethe efficiencyby egy them as necessary but whichourhousinguseswood. Therearesevings, adapting the minimizing consumption of new re- eralways to savewood fiber in light frame sources. Wherenew construction is necessary construction. and alternative materials areconsidered, it is in framing By minimizing over-design for architects to be aware of the it is estimated that 5 important systems, percent of a of such substitutions. Some house's wood can be These saved.49 implications design framing and sheathing can be developed changes include several modifications to fromreused or recycled materials, particularly structuraldetailing. Where floor framing in the form of panel products. In general, members meetat intermediate supports, they we must be careful about can be butted rather thanlapped.Door and however, replacing an almostexhaustedbut potentiallyrenew- windowopeningsin gableend walls(thatdo able resource with material fromnonrenew- not support roofloads)canusually be framed ablesources. Afterall,if we can'tbuildwithin withoutheaders. The top platesof wallscan the capacity of our renewable how be made of a single piece of lumber,rather materials, canwe expectnonrenewable resources to last? thantwo, if the floorand roofframing memnonwoodmaterials with the wall'sframFurthermore, frequently bersabovealigndirectly havean undesirable environmental detailed connections, impact. ing members. Carefully For example,steel requiresmuch more en- often requiringsteel plates, are necessary withwood. ergy to produce than does wood. The ap- wheneliminating over-design Wood materials themselves canalsobe proximateproduction energy for mining, to convenprocessing,and transportinglumber, ply- mademoreefficiently. Compared wood, and steel is 4-7, 18, and 25-35 tionaldimensioned framlumber,or "stick" megajoulesper kilogram(MJ/kg), respec- ing, engineeredtrussessave material(and It should thereforebe obviousthat labor), and wooden I-joists use much less tively.47 steel cannot be practically embracedas the wood to frame a house.In one comparison of residential material of the future. Al- a 1600-square-footdesign, floor and roof building thoughconcrete only2 MJ/kgfor its framingwith I-joists used 25 percent less requires cementproduction accountsfor wood fiberthan did stick framing.50 One of production, as muchas 3 percentof globalhuman-made the reasonsthe I-joistsareso efficientis becarbon dioxide emissions.48 In addition, cause they use thin panel productsfor the wood technologies aregenerally understood joist's web, minimizingthe cross-sectional to be easierto workwith thansteeland con- areanecessaryfor high structural strength. for inexperiencedhome Someof thesepanelproducts, crete, particularly in the formof ownersand occupants.This understanding orientedstrandboard,aremadefrom small furthersupportsthe continueduse of wood strands of low-density wood thatarepressed in residentialconstruction. in a combination of layersoriented together Many of this country's bioregions, to providea high degreeof structural integwith the exception of thosewithinthe plains rity.This low-density wood type can be obof the Midwestand the desertsof the West, tainedfromtreespecies thatnormally arenot
73 Sturges

10. Forested landscape. Source: Genius Loci(New York: Christian Rizzoli, 1979), p. 49. Norberg-Schulz,

used in construction,such as the hardwood the resource base aspen,therebydiversifying on softwoodlumand reducing the demands ber.Althoughtheseengineeredpanel products and I-joists use wood very efficiently, they unfortunately requirehigh amountsof other kinds of resources,including resins but not necessarily, de(whicharecurrently, inrivedfromnonrenewable sources), capital andenergy.51 vestments, Increasingthe efficiency of wood in mean that less housing does not necessarily overallwood will be used. Indeed,throughout the history of US house construction, havebecomemoreand buildingtechnologies moreefficient,yet the consumptionof lumber has consistently increased.This point emphasizesthe fact that reexaminingour overall settlement patterns, including the the need for populationcontrol, represents to transform our housopportunity greatest In general,houshabitats. ing to sustainable of greater density can be ing patterns of wood to realize expected significant savings units confiber.For example,single-family

sume more than twice as much lumberand units.52 Other structural panelsas multifamily forms of higher density housing can save wood, therebysupportinghealthierforests, and can also support potentially positive changesfor humansociety.Co-housingand other typesof sharedhousing,althoughbeyond the scope of this paper, present new ideasfor dwellingthat not only conserveresourcesbut alsopromotea senseof community that may be an integralcomponent to humanhabitats.53 healthy to our exAs we search for alternatives look settlement we should patterns, isting backto the precedentof sustainable habitat that once nurtured this continent.It is very to contrast the amount of wood revealing used per individualoccupantof our dominant dwellingtype, the single-family house, with the amount used by the Iroquois in theirlonghouses.The longhousewas about 1400 squarefeet in area,used about 12,800 bf of lumber(and hardlyany other materials),andwasoccupiedby thirtyto sixtyindihomesare viduals.Our existing single-family
November 1992 JAE46/2 74

roughlythe same size, use about the same amount of lumber (not including wood but aredesignedand expanel products),54 to from house two to fiveindividuals. pected This relationship thatcontemporary suggests twentytimes more housingpatternsrequire wood per occupantthan did the indigenous modernhousingconFurthermore, patterns. sumesa vastamountof otherresources. The purposeof this contrastis not to proposethat we emulatethe housingtraditions of the NativeAmericans. Althoughthe densities are farbeyond indigenoushousing American what contemporary culturecould achieveor accept,it is clearthatour housing densities mustincrease if we areto realize any in the relationship significantimprovement between ourhousesandforests. By exploring the design and occupancy possibilitiesof higherunit densities, in conjunction with the efficient particularly refinementsin materialsand detailing described above, wood construction may be able to meet our housing needs while forestmanagement supportingregenerative
strategies.

The integratedland-useethic of the Native Americansand its implicationsfor sustainablehousing patternsseem very remote fromourpresent situation. it However, is probable thatthe onlywayour culture can resolve the problems associated with the supof the is to and demand resources ply planet's fundamental for an develop support integration between humans and healthy ecosysof such a sustainable tems. The possibilities We must applyour are limitless. humanity our and our spirits aesthetics, technologies, toward this reaching goal.

Acknowledgement All illustrations by MilesE. Woofter

18. Ibid. 19. Ibid.,p. 40 20. Ibid. 1. United States Department of Agriculture, 21. Detailed material takeoffs are available ForestService,An Analysisof the TimberSituationin from the author.See alsoTable2. the United States: 1989-2040 (Fort Collins, CO: 22. Williams,Americans, p. 252. Rocky Mountain Forestand Range ExperimentSta23. Ibid. tion, 1990), p. 8. 24. Ibid., p. 167. 2. Ibid.,p. 131. 25. Ibid.,p. 146. 3. Ibid. 26. JamesMarstonFitch, American Building: 4. WesternWood ProductsAssociation,1989 The Historical Forces That Shaped It (Boston: Lumber the Western Statistical Yearbook of Industry Mifflin, 1947), p. x. (Portland,OR: WesternWood ProductsAssociation, Houghton 27. Ibid.,p. x. 1990), p. 31. 28. Williams,Americans, p. 118. 5. D.A. Perryand J. Maghembe,"Ecosystem 29. Ibid. in and Current Trends Forest Management: Concepts and RogerD. Sedjo, 30. KennethD. Frederick and Management Time for Reappraisal," Forest Ecology Resources: HistoricalTrends Renewable eds., America's 26: 123-40. and Current D.C.: Resources (Washington, Challenges 6. Robert K. Winters, The Forestand Man forthe Future,1991), p. 91. York: 274. (New VantagePress,1974), p. Service and the Forest 31. David Clary, Timber and HouseLifeof 7. LewisH. Morgan,Houses Press KS:University of Kansas, (Lawrence, 1986),p. xi. of ChitheAmerican Aborigines (Chicago:University 32. Ibid.,p. 5. cago Press,1965), p. 116. 33. Ibid.,p. 25. Native Peter Nabakov Robert 8. and Easton, 34. Jerry V. Finrow, The Conflict between AmericanArchitecture (New York:Oxford Univrsity A Revolution in Basic Forest: Dwellingand theAmerican Press,1989), p. 85. Cultural Values 1992). (unpublished, 9. Morgan,Houses, p. 117. and Sedjo,America's Renewable 35. Frederick 10. Nabakov Native andEaston, American, p. 82. Resources, p. 92. 11. Morgan,Houses, 126-29. pp. 36. Finrow,Conflict, p. 7. 12. Nabakov Native andEaston, American, p. 82. 37. Ibid.,p. 6. 126-29. 13. Morgan,Houses, pp. 38. Williams,Americans, p. 169. 14. Ibid. 39. United StatesDepartmentof Agriculture, 15. Ibid. ForestService,An Analysisof the Timber Situationin 16. Detailed material takeoffs are available the UnitedStates: D.C.: U.S. 1952-2030 (Washington, fromthe author. Government 16. Office, 1986), Printing p. 17. Michael Williams, Americansand Their 40. Ray Raphael, TreeTalk (Covelo, CA: IsForests(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, land Press,1981), p. 24. 1989), pp. 37-38.

Notes

41. Peter Farb, TheForest(New York:Time, 1961), p. 179. 42. Gordon Robinson, quoted in: Ray Raphael, TreeTalk,pp. 58-59. 43. ForestService, 1989-2040, p. 3. Analysis 44. Timothy Hermach,DeborahOrtuno, and W. VictorRozek,eds. Forest vol. 4, no. 1, Primer Voice, (Eugene,OR: NativeForestCouncil 1991): 8. 45. ForestService, 1989-2040, p. 170. Analysis 46. Ibid. "En47. RaymondCole and David Rousseau, vironmental Aspectsof Common BuildingMaterials," Canadian vol. 36, no. 3, (March1991):21. Architect, 48. Ibid.,p. 22. 49. ForestService, 1989-2040, p. 222. Analysis a Defini50. WilliamGould Sturges,Towards tion of Sustainable Construction A FrameTechnologies: workof Performance Criteria ThreeWooden Evaluating LightFrameFloorand RoofStructuralSystems of the Cascadia Bioregion (thesis, University of Oregon, 1991), p. 116. healthconsciousness 51. Becauseof increasing it shouldbe menand occupants, by buildingdesigners tioned that the resinsusedin structuralpanel products, if properlycured,pose no riskof toxic or noxiousfor"Release [SeeRainerMarutzky, maldehyde off-gassing. of Formaldehyde by Wood Products,"WoodAdhesives Chemistryand Technology2 (New York: Marcel Dekker, 1989), p. 323.] However,the urea-formaldehyde resinsin nonstructural panelproductscan pose a significantthreat,but these productsare easyto avoid in the designof a building. 52. ForestService, 1989-2040, p. 9. Analysis A. Frank and Sherry 53. Karen Ahrentzen, eds., New Households, New Housing (New York: Van NostrandReinhold,1989). 54. ForestService, 1989-2040, p. 9. Analysis

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