This event will be conducted in-person in Room 315F and through Zoom. 

For in-person attendance, please register in advance here.
For Zoom attendance, please register here.

Though it is one of the world’s oldest building materials, wood is still revolutionizing the way buildings are designed and constructed today. Timber works necessitate an interdisciplinary approach from the outset of a project, combining the diverse expertise of forest managers, architects, engineers, fabricators, and builders to create environmentally responsible, materially efficient, and biophilic architecture. In this talk, Shigeru Ban Architects Associate Laura Britton will present a primer on timber in architecture, followed by case studies drawn from the firm’s canonical and current projects.

The lecture will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Hayley Eber.

Laura Britton, AIA is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at The Cooper Union and an Associate at Shigeru Ban Architects, where she leads a diverse range of cultural, educational, and residential projects. In 2022, she authored “Shigeru Ban: Timber in Architecture” (Rizzoli). The book traces the evolution of 45 wood projects from concept through construction, demonstrating the challenges and merits of wood buildings through essays, technical drawings, and photographs. As an advocate for environmentally responsible approaches to mass timber, Laura has lectured widely on decarbonization and the benefits of interdisciplinary approaches to design and construction. She currently serves on the Steering Committee for the International Mass Timber Conference and is a member of the Colorado Mass Timber Coalition. A graduate of Yale University and the Princeton University School of Architecture, Laura is a recipient of the American Institute of Architects’ Henry Adams Medal.

This event is free and open to the public.