Will living in a timber frame house make your happier? Or help you lose weight, grow your 401K and make you spouse fall in love with you all over again? We’d sure like to think so, and it turns out, some people do. At least the happier part. The term, “biophilia” was coined by Harvard biologist, two-time Pulitzer prize-winner and the man considered the world's leading authority on biodiversity, Edward 0. Wilson (http://www.sdearthtimes.com/et0895/et0895s1.html). According to the theory, human beings have an innate need to connect with nature, one that apparently makes us crave homes made of natural materials. Like timber frames--and we can help you with that. You’re on your own for the other stuff, though.

The house we just finished in Anacortes is full of hot air. And that’s a good thing. A recent blower door test returned impressive results. This test measures the rate at which conditioned air leaves a building, so the less leakage, the less energy usage. So-called normal construction usually results in something around 4 air changes per hour (ach). Our house, a timber frame enclosed with SIP’s tested out at 2.5 ach. That gives the house an Energy Star rating of 5+ stars!. The result suggests that the house will use 41% less energy than a house built to the 2006 Energy Code—and it will do so year after year after year. No suprises here, though: we’ve been saying for twenty years that timber frames and SIP’s are a hard com bination to beat!

The guys just came back from an unusual November raising. The lakefront property had, shall we say, limited access. The big stuff (i.e. timbers) came in by barge. The small stuff (i.e. timberframers) came down via a tram or several flights of steep stairs. There was no room for the crane. It was a complicated roof with four intesecting gables which meant four valley rafters and four ridges all came together at the apex. That’s like an eight way intersection at rush hour. Click here to check out more pictures of this very pretty timber frame.

The Northwest Chapter of the Architects Institute of America (NWAIA) recogized The Porch at Boulevard Park with a Citation Award at the recent 2009 awards banquet. For the sixth time, staff architect, Greg Robinson, has been recognized byt his peers, but this one means more to us than all the others since it is our memorial to our dear colleague, Mark Witter, and to all people who like Mark, in a very intimate and unheralded way, make our lives richer, our community better and show us the grace, humor and passion that helps us appreciate our good fortune.

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